Safety fears raised over A1 services where KFC will replace Little Chef

The former Little Chef at Cromwell, which briefly became Cafe Amore (Credit: Welcome Break Services Ltd)
By Jamie Waller, Local Democracy Reporter

A derelict former Little Chef on the A1 will become a KFC – provided road safety improvements are made.

The motorway restaurant at Cromwell near Newark has been closed since 2005, and later turned into a Café Amore coffeeshop, which shut in 2015.

Planning permission for a KFC on the site was given at a Newark & Sherwood District Council meeting on Thursday (July 11), although councillors were concerned about a “danger point” for traffic.

The exit to the services is located very close to a slip road leading to the village of Cromwell.

Ward Councillor Sue Saddington (Con) told the committee that a similar junction at North Muskham “has a crash every month”, and she didn’t want the same to happen here.

“I don’t want to object and put people out of work, but there is already confusion on the correct place to leave the A1,” she said.

“The signage could be much clearer. This is a danger point, and there are more and more accidents on the A1.”

Cllr Saddington expressed worries about increased levels of traffic coming from both directions through the services and the potential to hit pedestrians.

“We’ve all seen it – a child in a car runs after mummy, and what if there’s a car coming [from the KFC?]” She said.

The former Little Chef on the A1 near Newark (Credit: Welcome Break Services Ltd)

Councillor Linda Tift (Lab) said: “It’s good the building is going to be replaced and provide some local employment.

“Other places on the A1 are so confusing where you turn, and this site looks a bit of a maze. Unless there’s really good signage, I can see people innocently messing it up.

“I don’t want to get run over when going into KFC for a party bucket.”

Council officers agreed to strengthen the planning rules so that the drive-through couldn’t open until signs directing traffic were in place.

All members voted unanimously to approve it with this guarantee.

The building, on the northbound lane of the A1, will have drive-through services and a small seating area.

Little Chefs were once a fixture of motorway service stations up and down the country, but have been driven out of the market by fast food restaurants.

The Little Chef franchise was rescued from administration in 2007, but continued to decline and is no longer operating in the UK.