PLANS to build a McDonalds and Costa coffee shop in Dovercourt have been given the greenlight.

The fast food giant and coffee chain are set open drive-thrus on land off Station Road Roundabout and Williamsburg Avenue.

Tendring Council granted planning permission for the scheme which is expected to bring more than 80 jobs to the area.

The proposal includes a car park with 68 spaces, patio areas, extraction equipment and other works.

Vehicle and pedestrian access will be from Williamsburg Avenue with pedestrian crossings within the site.

But Harwich Town Council objected to the planning application on the grounds there is no filter lane off the roundabout and existing residents living in the area prefer residential development.

The council also raised concerns over noise pollution, litter and fears that it may encourage cars driving around the site at night.

Tendring Council received 29 letters of objection from residents themselves.

Valerie Sharpe, 71, of Williamsburg Avenue, Dovercourt, said: “This is a residential area and it is going to be lethal with an increase in vehicles using McDonalds and Costa coffee.

“Everybody who lives near me has put in an objection to Tendring Council.

“We are concerned that people will not be able to get out of the estate as it will be too busy.

“I would like to know if any of the Tendring Council planners actually came down here to look at where the developments would be built.

“If I could afford it, I would just move house.”

Tendring Council has imposed 22 conditions to the plans, one of the conditions covers anti-social behaviour and littering, and will require a litter management strategy and a comprehensive CCTV system to be installed.

A Tendring Council spokesman said: “The facilities are targeting passing motorists with impact on the town centre likely to be negligible. There is no such site available in the town centre itself and the principle of this use for the land is considered acceptable.

“The site has been vacant for many years and the promise of around 80 jobs, with the majority being recruited locally, is of significant benefit.”

The land previously had planning permission for 81 flats but its residential designation is not included in the emerging local plan.

McDonalds will operate 24 hours a day while Costa will open between 5am and 11pm.