A McDonald’s restaurant has been given permission to keep serving until the early hours at weekends - once restaurants reopen following the coronavirus lockdown.

Norwich City Council has granted permission for the McDonald’s in Norwich’s Haymarket to stay open until 2am on Saturday and Sunday mornings.

While permission is currently in place to open until midnight every day of the week, up to its closure because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the restaurant had been closing at 11pm each night, except Sundays when it shut at 10pm.

City Hall planning officers have granted permission for the extended hours, using their delegated powers.

In the report which recommended that approval be granted, planning officer Jacob Revell said: “There have been no noise complaints against the premises in recent years.

“Further, the police architectural liaison have commented that they do not have any additional concerns regarding security.”

The McDonald’s in Haymarket is not within Norwich’s defined late night activity zone, where bars, clubs and takeaways are generally allowed to open for longer hours than other places in the city.

Officers said: “However, it is recognised that the premises is located close by to a number of other businesses that are open until a similar time on Fridays and Saturdays.

“For the reasons above, it is considered that the increased opening hours will not have a detrimental effect of surrounding amenity and therefore the proposal is considered acceptable.”

Documents lodged with the council on behalf of McDonald’s stated that the longer opening hours were needed to “ensure that the restaurant is better able to meet the demands of its established customer base and enhance its overall efficiency.”

And they said: “The extension of operating hours for the restaurant will create additional employment positions and additional working hours for existing employees at the site.”

McDonald’s has said 15 restaurants will reopen for deliveries from 11am next Wednesday. However, the majority are in London and the South East, with one in Ipswich the nearest to Norwich.

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