A CITY councillor has hit out at the decision to overturn a refused planning application – saying residents in his ward are continuously "ignored".

As previously reported, KFC's plans to build a new drive-thru restaurant in Whiteley were voted down at a Winchester City Council committee last April.

But nearly a year later the Planning Inspectorate has has given the fast food giants permission to erect the store just off the M27. This follows an appeal lodged in October.

Ward representative Cllr Roger Bentote told the Chronicle: "I am very disappointed that the inspector has overturned the Winchester City Council decision.

"Whiteley residents' views on traffic increase continue to be ignored and the traffic problems exacerbated by this and other recently approved developments in the area will prove their point."

At the planning meeting last year a handful of resident representations were read out.

Wendy Backwell asked councillors: “Would my friend still be alive today if the road wasn’t gridlocked?”

She told the committee her friend, named only as Stan, died in Whiteley after an ambulance was unable to get to his home because of heavy traffic.

“We are haunted by what happened with Stan and it’s unacceptable that the traffic in our town has caused so many accident blackspots - including where this restaurant would be built," she added.

In a report, the Planning Inspectorate explained the reasons behind the decision.

It reads: "The proposal would be accessed by the road off Solent Way which was approved as part of the scheme for the adjacent Lidl foodstore.

"Whilst it is accepted that approximately 40 per cent of trips would be new trips onto the network, this would nevertheless translate in a very limited impact, having regard to the net increase in the number of journeys made and the periods at which the majority of these would occur."

The full report can be seen on the official Government website (www.gov.uk).