COUNCILLORS are preparing to officially reject plans for a McDonald's drive-thru in the car park of a former DIY store due to concerns about an "adverse impact on local health".

Basildon Council's planning committee will reconsider the new restaurant plans for the car park of the former Homebase store, off London Road, in Vange, just off the A13. The council considered the plans in December and chose to defer a decision to allow for more consideration.

It comes after it was revealed that the council agreed to pay the fast food giant £1 million for the new restaurant at the site. Documents seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service show the money was due to be taken from the council's house-building funds. The chain said no money was paidm as plans had not been agreed upon.

Basildon Council has not commented on the matter.

Following a further debate in December, the councillors expressed concerns regarding the proposed development's impact on the Green Belt and health concerns regarding its close proximity to Vange Primary School and the number of similar facilities within this part of the borough.

The proposal also includes an outdoor seating area or patio and two bordering areas with canopies. If agreed upon, the restaurant will be open 24 hours a day, Monday through Sunday. During quiet trading periods, McDonald's deliveries will be scheduled to occur within four-hour delivery slots three to five times per week.

The latest officer report states: "The proposed development by reason of its location within walking distance of Vange Primary School, outside of a designated town centre and in the wider Basildon conurbation area, would not enable and support healthy lives.

"The ward of Nethermayne has no existing Mcdonald's restaurants; however, the wider area Basildon has a total of five Mcdonald's restaurants, of which four of these McDonald are drive-thru restaurants and the closest of these restaurants to the application site is approximately 2.4 miles away, at the Pitsea Retail Park.

In addition to this, there are three more drive-thru restaurants within the Basildon area, which include two KFCs and a Burger King. 

"This comprehensive list indicates that there is a potential clustering and over-concentration of these types of facilities within Basildon itself.

"However, it is important to note that there is no evidence that a concentration of such uses is having an adverse impact on local health pollution or anti-social-behaviour."