VISIBLE progress was being made this week on the construction of a new Wellington fast-food restaurant, just five months since it won planning permission.

Following installation of the roof, the building on the Westpark 26 business park, Chelston, has had expansive glazing panels fitted.

It will house a KFC drive-thru restaurant which is expected to open on the site in the early part of 2024, creating about 30 new jobs.

Glazing has been fitted to a new KFC restaurant under construction in Chelston, Wellington.
Glazing has been fitted to a new KFC restaurant under construction in Chelston, Wellington. (Tindle News)

Although recruitment of staff for the fried chicken franchise does not appear to have started, a similar KFC drive-thru in Taunton is currently advertising for a full-time assistant manager whose job carries a £27,000 salary.

Miss Millie’s Fried Chicken, which earlier this year opened a concession just 200 yards away on the Westpark estate in the Shell petrol station/Budgens convenience store, is also currently advertising for full and part-time ‘team members’, quoting a wage rate of £10.50 per hour.

Wellington’s KFC will be slightly larger than half the size of a nearby McDonald’s 24-hour drive-through restaurant which opened on the business park three years ago.

KFC, however, has agreed to restrict its opening hours to between 7 am and 11 pm daily.

The store will also have 32 car parking spaces, two of which will be for Blue Badge holders, and 12 electric vehicle charging bays.

A drive-thru kiosk window can be seen in this photograph of the under-construction Wellington KFC restaurant.
A drive-thru kiosk window can be seen in this photograph of the under-construction Wellington KFC restaurant. (Tindle News)

Planning agent Sam Thomas, associate director of town planning consultancy CarneySweeney, acting for applicants Summerfield Developments (SW) Ltd, said the KFC unit would complement the existing main retail, leisure, and business facilities at Westpark 26.

Ms Thomas said the new restaurant would provide an improved choice of ancillary facilities for workers on the business park and ‘pass-by trade’ on the road network.

She said: “Wellington is not currently served by a KFC restaurant.

“The nearest KFCs are located in East Street, Taunton, and at Hankridge Farm retail and leisure park, close to the M5 junction 25.

“The development will contribute to the vitality and viability of the Westpark site by providing a more diverse mix of supporting ancillary uses.

Progress can be seen with the development of a KFC drive-thru restaurant in Westpark, Chelston.
Progress can be seen with the development of a KFC drive-thru restaurant in Westpark, Chelston. (Tindle News)

“The development will therefore bring significant benefits to the occupiers/users of the site and enhance the overall town centre experience.”

KFC is the world’s second-largest restaurant chain after McDonald’s, with more than 26,000 locations in 150 countries around the globe and employing 820,000 staff.

The corporation is looking to open more than 500 new sites across the UK and Ireland and has offered to pay up to £20,000 for introductions to sites it did not already know about.