A full planning application has now been submitted for a McDonald's restaurant and drive-thru in Leek.

We reported recently how the fast food giant confirmed that they were aiming to set up a new outlet in the town.

The burger chain confirmed in a statement that they were hoping to come to Leek, but a planning application on the district council's website was at that time marked as 'invalid', meaning it had not yet been validated by the district council, and no supporting documents had yet been uploaded.

However, the full plans are now live on the district council's website including all the relevant documents, meaning much more information about the plans is now available.

The proposal seeks permission for: "Erection of freestanding restaurant with drive-thru facility, car parking, landscaping and associated works, including Customer Order Displays and Play Frame."

The site of the new McDonald's would be at Churnet Works, Abbey Green Road, which is in the same place as the town's Sainsbury's supermarket.

A planning statement prepared as part of the application says the development would represent millions of pounds worth of investment into the town and create well over 100 full and part-time jobs.

It says: "The proposal represents a multi-million-pound investment. The restaurant is expected to employ more than 120 full and part time staff, which McDonald's seeks to recruit from the local area."

"The subject site is a brownfield site on the northern side of Leek, adjacent to the Sainsbury car park. Access is from the A523.

"The proposal represents sustainable development of a prominent site, which will provide a range of local jobs to the area. McDonald's design team have taken into account the site-specific design background of the surrounding area and provided a comprehensive justification of the development and how it complies with key policies."

It adds: "The customer seating area comprises 97 covers for visitors to eat their meals within a relaxed modern environment. The dining area will include a variety of seating types and table sizes tailored to the customers' needs.

"The proposal includes 51 car parking spaces, inclusive of provision for 2 accessible bays and 2 grill bays. Furthermore, there are 2 motorbike spaces and 3 Sheffield customer bike stands under lightwood cycle shelter, for an overall provision of 6 cycle spaces.

"An external play area is located on the new patio area, with facilities for younger customers to climb and explore."

On potential issues such as anti-social behaviour and litter, it says: "The restaurant shall maintain a strict protocol for ensuring noise and disturbance is kept to a minimum. All shift managers shall receive conflict resolution training sufficient to ensure they can deal effectively with noise or anti-social behaviour. Good management training and practices, in combination with appropriate physical security equipment, will reduce the risk of crime and disorder.

"It is company policy to conduct a minimum of three daily litter patrols, whereby employees pick up not only McDonald's packaging, but also any other litter that may have been discarded in a 150m vicinity of a restaurant. This may be expanded to suit local needs. Litter bins are provided outside all restaurants, as shown on the drawings and packaging carries anti-littering symbols to encourage customers to dispose of litter responsibly."

The district council will have the final say on the application at a later date.

You can find the full application on the district council's planning portal on its website.

The application comes amid several hopes to open fast food chains in Leek. There are currently plans to open a drive-thru restaurant - thought to be Tim Hortons - on Mill Street, whereas another restaurant "focussing on chicken products" was planned for Broad Street, although neither of these have yet been approved.