Long-awaited KFC told it can’t cook chicken

A long-awaited KFC in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, has closed its doors, temporarily, after the council barred it from cooking chicken. After opening to huge queues from chicken lovers who’d campaigned for years for the fast food firm to move back to the coast, management are understood to have shut up shop while they try to resolve an issue with the extractor fan. Scarborough Council has been forced to step in after complaints about the smell and noise from the restaurant. While the authority didn’t close the site, KFC bosses were served with a planning enforcement notice, meaning food couldn’t be cooked on the site. It means they can serve drinks, ice cream or anything prepared – but the Colonel’s secret recipe chicken is banned, for the time being.
Andy Skelton, Scarborough Council Director of Service Delivery, admitted the news will be a blow to KFC fans, 6,000 of whom campaigned to bring the chain to Scarborough. But he said the council had no option but to take action, adding: “It is with regret that we have had to serve a planning enforcement notice on the operators of the business and we realize these actions may mean disappointment for KFC customers.
“However, we have been left with no other choice due to the operators opening without complying with planning requirements because the extraction equipment on the premises is not operating correctly. There has been a problem with odor and noise from this equipment and we have received justified complaints. We are hopeful that the operators will be able to resolve the problems as soon as possible and once we are satisfied that the extraction equipment works correctly, we should be able to lift the notice.”