PLANS for a drive-through Burger King in Brynmawr have been given the green light by councillors despite objectors arguing that it will be bad for people’s health.

At a meeting of Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council’s Planning committee on Thursday, June 5 councillors received a planning application by Starburst limited for a drive through Burger King, a pizza restaurant/takeaway, and a tanning “shop” on land at Blaina Road in Brynmawr.

The development could create 84 full and part time jobs.

Planning officer Joanne White explained that outline planning permission had been granted in 2018 for a nearby Costa Coffee drive through which also included building 25 houses on the site.

Ms White said: “But the residential part of the permission has never been implemented and has since lapsed.”

She believed it would be “unlikely” that a housing scheme would ever be built there and recommended that councillors approve the plans.

Cllr Jules Gardner (Labour) one of the county councillors for Brynmawr spoke against the proposal and said that he and his fellow ward councillors had received a “plethora” of complaints from people against the proposal.

Cllr Gardner said: “This project will provide no new experiences or facilities but offers purely a duplication of existing services, more fast food outlets, another burger bar and pizza parlour only 100 metres from an existing drive-through McDonalds.”

He added that the development could also cause more antisocial behaviour, traffic congestion and have a detrimental impact on the town centre.

Objector Chris Nottingham said: “The proposal would undermine our collective efforts to improve population health and in particular children’s in Blaenau Gwent.

“Our local stats are shocking, over a quarter of our children are overweight or obese.

“The top six diseases for general population in Blaenau Gwent are all linked to poor diet in particular type-2 diabetes cardio-vascular disease and certain cancers.

He believed planning policy “can” be used to support improving health.

Mr Nottingham said: “We cannot do this by allowing the clustering of fast food takeaways especially near schools and areas with high deprivation.

“We’re way above the average for fast food density and this is not by accident, the business model exploits the economic vulnerabilities of communities and deepens health inequalities.”

The meeting was then opened up to comments and questions from committee members.

Development management team manager Steph Hopkins said: “It would be unfair to assume that this development is going to have a direct impact on the health service.”

Mrs Hopkins stressed: “There’s been ample opportunity over the years for the market to come forward with alternatives including housing.

“Clearly this site has not been an attractive proposition.”

“There are no local or national policies which restricts the provision of fast food takeaways.

“It’s not the function of planning policy to dictate consumer choice.

“Consuming food from a fast food restaurant can form part of a balanced diet in moderation, there are also healthier options provided these days.”

She added that people also have the choice of walking or cycling there.