Fast food chain Leon to create 15 jobs with opening of Harrogate drive-thru in May

It will open at the site of a former dental surgery on Wetherby Road where plans to open a Starbucks drive-thru were controversially given the go-ahead in July 2021 following three previous refusals.

EG Group is behind the proposals and has confirmed the site will become a Leon drive-thru, creating "12 to 15 new jobs".

EG Group and Leon are both owned by the billionaire Issa brothers who also own Britain's third-largest supermarket chain Asda.

They made their fortunes running petrol stations and bought more than 70 Leon restaurants across the UK and Europe last year.

The first Leon drive-thru opened in Leeds and the second in Harrogate will now follow.

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When the Harrogate plans were approved last year, residents living nearby complained during an appeal that the drive-thru would "completely destroy" their enjoyment of their homes.

They also said traffic in the area was already at "breaking point" without the development.

However, a government planning inspector concluded in a report that the drive-thru would not cause "significant harm" to the living conditions of residents, as well as highway safety or air quality.

The decision went against that of another inspector who said previous plans for the site would cause “unacceptable” harm to those living nearby.

By Jacob Webster, Local Democracy Reporter