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Search the Public Notice PortalA former Pizza Hut restaurant which closed last year could now be turned into a new fast food site, as plans are submitted.
The Shaw Ridge brand of Pizza Hut closed suddenly on Wednesday, January 10, 2025, despite no warning signs that a closure was imminent.
Customers calling to place an order that morning were surprised to hear a recorded message announcing that the Whitehill Way branch had been closed with immediate effect, directing them to the nearest Pizza Hut restaurant at Greenbridge Retail and Leisure Park.
The closure was so sudden that customers were still turning up to collect their order, only to find the building deserted.
Now, exactly one year on from the closure, new plans have been submitted to turn the old Pizza Hut into a new McDonald's.
The plans, which were submitted at the end of 2025 by McDonald's Restaurants Limited, propose changing the use of the site to allow for hot food takeaway, as well as partially demolishing the building and adding a new drive-through lane.
McDonald's also hopes to remove 16 of the parking spaces at the Shaw Ridge site, dropping the number of spaces from the existing 45 down to just 29.
Responding to the proposal, The Ridge restaurant has raised significant concerns that the new McDonald's could lead to customers "missing cinema screenings or bowling slots" due to traffic issues at Shaw Ridge.
"An increase in drive-through traffic could make congestion worse, leading to delays, parking issues, and people missing pre-booked cinema screenings or bowling slots," said a spokesperson for The Ridge.
"This would affect not just visitors, but also staff and local residents who rely on the area running smoothly."
However, others have praised the plans for a new McDonald's.
Taking to social media, one Swindon local said: "It seems a sensible idea. It means families can go bowling, play laser quest or watch a film and then grab some fast food.
"It might even bring business as car charges will probably follow."
Another added: "Great idea, and also making use of a derelict building."
Restaurant Online reported in January that Pizza Hut’s UK restaurant franchisee had been sold in a pre-pack administration, which was set to preserve more than 3,000 jobs.
The deal saw Heart with Smart (HwS), the operator for Pizza Hut Restaurants in the UK, be acquired by Directional Capital, an investment firm that already controls much of Pizza Hut’s dine-in operations in Denmark and Sweden.
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Will Wright and Chris Pole from Interpath were appointed joint administrators of Heart with Smart Restaurants Ltd.
They immediately sold the business and assets of the company to DC London Pie Ltd, a company owned by Directional Capital.
Only one of Pizza Hut’s 140 restaurants closed during the transaction, and that was the branch at Shaw Ridge Leisure Park, which shut that same day.
The plan to build a new McDonald's at the former Pizza Hut site now remains under public consultation, and locals are being encouraged to have their say on the Swindon Borough Council planning website under the planning reference code S/25/1670.
Consultation will end on January 27, and a final decision is then set to be made by Monday, February 16, 2026, at the latest.
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