PLANS for a burger restaurant in Ulverston look set to win approval next week.

The bid for a McDonald’s drive-thru has sparked strong feeling in the town, prompting 157 letters of objection, plus 47 letters and a petition in support.

The plans will come before South Lakeland District Council’s planning committee next Thursday, and members are recommended to back them.

McDonald’s says the new restaurant on brownfield land at Booths supermarket, on Oubas Hill, would create 35 full-time and 30 part-time jobs.

Objectors include Ulverston and District Civic Society, which has raised concerns about litter and the impact on town centre businesses.

District councillor Anne Hall said siting a takeaway 'near to one of Ulverston’s most deprived wards' goes against the council’s attempts to 'promote good health and wellbeing'.

She said: “Ulverston is a market town revered for its local shops and anything done to undermine these businesses is against policy.”

Ulverston Town Council has raised no objection to the plan, which would see the recycling site at Booths relocated.

Planning officers are recommending the McDonald’s is granted consent, subject to conditions including bat and bird boxes being placed at Next Ness Nature Reserve, and litter bins along Ulverston Canal.

They say the takeaway “will not have any significant adverse impact” on neighbours or the environment, and the design is “acceptable.”