A BRANCH of Mcdonalds can now open at 5am after a panel of Councillors amended the restaurant’s licence.

The Rooley Lane branch of Mcdonalds currently has a licence that allows it to open at 7am.

But last year its owners applied to extend this so it can open two hours earlier.

One person objected to the proposals - which meant the plans had to go before a meeting of Bradford Council’s Licensing Panel, which met in City Hall yesterday morning.

The objected did not attend the meeting - a fact that a representative from the restaurant chain described as “frustrating.”

The burger chain was granted planning permission to open at 5am last year, but with the business’ licence saying it could not open before 7am, it had to apply for a licence variation too.

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The objection said the increased opening hours would “vastly increase disturbance to our community.”

It added: “The situation with the present trading hours already makes our lives unbearable and the granting of permission would vastly interfere with the quality of our lives.”

The objector said the people visiting the restaurant at that time would be “travelling at speed with high volume music beating.”

Sarah Clover, representing Mr Shah, said: “It is somewhat frustrating for those who instruct met that a single resident has made an objection and they are not here today. Because of that one objection we have had to have a hearing today. Maybe the objector has not completely understood the nature of the application.”

She pointed out that no other residents had objected to the licence variation.

And a noise report submitted with last year’s planning application found that it was impossible to tell whether traffic noise was coming from the restaurant site or Rooley Lane, one of Bradford’ s busiest roads.

Saj Shah, who owns the franchise, spoke at the meeting, saying: “I am Bradford born and bred. I’m very proud of that fact. I grew up in an environment where my father would tell me ‘you’re part of a community.’

“Bradford has changed over 50 years, some ways for good some ways not so good. I sit on a number of committees looking at issues like long term unemployment and regeneration.

“There is no way I would do anything to harm the community. I just want to be a good neighbour and invest in the area and the people of Bradford.”

He said that with the business being located near the M606 there was a supply of customers who would be wanting to eat at 5am. Many of the customers at this time would be shift workers,rather than people who had just spent a “night on the tiles” - according to Mrs Clover.

Councillor Paul Godwin (Lab, Keighley West) questioned the impact the extra hours on residents’ sleep patterns.

But Mrs Clover said the fact there had just been one objection, and that Environmental Health and Police had logged no noise complaints, showed that noise nuisance was not a major issue.

The panel voted to approve the changes to the licence.