Plans for a Burger King fast food restaurant in a Pembrokeshire town have been refused by planners.

In an application to Pembrokeshire County Council, St Albans-based Motor Fuel Group, through agent CarneySweeney, sought permission for works at Morrisons Petrol Filling Station, Bridge Meadow Lane, Haverfordwest.

The application included the demolition of the existing jet wash and bin store and extension to the existing petrol filling station’s sales building (to include a Burger King hot food takeaway), installation of kitchen extraction equipment, new bin store and associated forecourt works.

A supporting statement accompanying the application said: “This application specifically seeks consent to allow for the erection of a larger extended sales building to be occupied by Burger King.

“It is anticipated that the Burger King will cater predominantly for motorists who wish to purchase food ‘on-the-go’ but it will also include an indoor seating area, giving customers the opportunity to consume their purchased goods on the premises.”

It added: “MFG is the UK’s largest independent forecourt operator with over 900 sites offering a dual-fuel strategy, convenient retail and ‘food to go’. As part of MFG’s proposals to improve facilities across their portfolio of Morrison petrol filling stations they are also taking the opportunity to extend the existing kiosk/shop, to provide an improved offer i.e. food to go services to visiting motorists.

“Given the scale and nature of the proposal, it is not considered that the development would adversely affect the vitality or viability of the town centre. Instead, the introduction of a national food retailer in this location is likely to complement existing town centre uses, potentially increasing linked trips and overall footfall.”

An officer report recommending refusal said there was an “absence of any compelling evidence to the contrary to conclusively demonstrate that the extension would be functionally operational only alongside the existing petrol filling station” against planning policy requirements for a town centre-first approach.

The application was refused on grounds including the scheme “by reason of its scale and design fails to demonstrate that it would be functionally and operationally linked to the existing petrol filling station” with planners saying there is an “absence of robust evidence to justify the out-of-centre location of the development,” adding: “The local planning authority is not satisfied that there are no sequentially preferable sites available within the town centre for Haverfordwest resulting in the proposal being contrary [to policy].”

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It was also refused on the grounds it was “not supported by adequate evidence to demonstrate that the proposed development would provide safe and suitable movement for all users or that it would not have an unacceptable impact on the safety and operation of the local and trunk road networks”.