Plans have been approved for a new KFC restaurant to open in Cardiff. The new branch will replace the long-standing former Pizza Hut restaurant in Cardiff Bay Retail Park in Grangetown with a drive-thru lane also being installed.
It comes after the global fast food chain announced plans to expand across Wales earlier this year with the Cardiff Bay site one of 15 'target' locations where it planned to open a new branch. You can read the full list of locations here.
Work will begin on the new restaurant later this year after a planning application was approved by Cardiff council. Get the latest planning news from across Cardiff sent straight to your inbox for free by signing up to our newsletter.
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KFC currently has 38 branches across Wales with the new restaurant set to be its eighth in the capital. The branch of Pizza Hut that it replaces had been in the retail park for more than 20 years but the site has been vacant since 2020.
While changes will be made inside the unit the planning application submitted to the council focuses largely on external alterations, which will see a drive-thru lane built alongside the restaurant. A total of 17 car parking spaces will also be removed as part of the development.
The application, submitted by chartered surveyors Montagu Evans, also states that around 20 jobs will be created at the new branch off Heol Ferry. It adds that the site "has potential to fall into disrepair" if left vacant for much longer with the new KFC set to "result in significant economic benefits".
"The application proposes external alterations in accordance with KFC's corporate branding and introduction of a drive-thru lane to the southeast of the unit," it reads. "The alterations will result in a an overall improvement to the appearance of the site which is tired and has the potential to fall into disrepair as a result of its going vacancy."
The new branch will join other big restaurant chains in the area with McDonald's and Costa Coffee also based in the retail park while Starbucks and Burger King have sites nearby. The application adds: "Given the commercial nature of the retail park the proposal will sit well and complement development in its immediate surroundings."
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