PROJECTS
Project: Burger King Drive-Thru Restaurant
Location: Waterton, Bridgend
Client: JA Lewis Development Consulting (via DPP Planning)
Services: Transport Planning
A proposed Burger King drive-thru restaurant in Waterton, Bridgend was to occupy an existing car park within an established retail area. Policy recognised the location as sustainable. Physical improvements to the Active Travel Route opposite were already in progress. Two competing drive-thrus operated within 100 metres. A planning application was submitted in October 2020. It was refused on highway safety and sustainability grounds. It would need to be tested at appeal.
The Local Highway Authority held a position the evidence did not support. The application was within a policy-recognised sustainable location, with active travel improvements being delivered immediately opposite and two drive-thru precedents within 100 metres. None of that moved the highway authority’s view. A resubmission was also refused on the same grounds. It became clear from an early stage that the application would need to be prepared with an appeal in mind. The concern was not technical error in the submissions. It was a preconceived position that could not be resolved through negotiation.
We took a deliberate step back before we stepped in. Rather than revisiting the technical adequacy of the previous applications, we began by understanding why two submissions had both been refused despite robust evidence. The highway authority’s concern was structural rather than technical: the building was capable of seating up to 500 guests, not the 300 proposed. The council believed a planning condition alone could not enforce the lower capacity, and that a parking shortfall would therefore occur when the building operated closer to its actual capacity. Understanding that framing was the point at which the appeal strategy became clear. The case was built to address that specific concern directly. Calibro provided expert witness at the appeal hearing in March 2023.
The appeal was allowed. Planning permission was granted for the drive-thru restaurant. Two refusals on transport grounds were overturned. The case turned not on new technical evidence but on identifying precisely what the council’s structural concern was, and building a response that addressed it.
“Calibro go much further than just the basic service — it’s not just drawing a plan, they are committed to resolving something for you.”
Gareth Hooper | Chief Executive Officer | DPP Planning
I’ve been impressed with the energy that Calibro has brought to this project. From first getting under the skin of emerging policies and identifying place-driven solutions to the access strategy – all have allowed us to put together a unique offer in the context of Cranbrook.
They’ve broken down the problems and solutions into bitesize chunks which has made my life easier in making decisions that protect value in the project. I certainly feel we had the right consultants on this project.
