Fifty jobs will be created in Swadlincote as fastfood chicken chain KFC finally secures a deal to bring a restaurant and drive-thru to the town.

KFC has now revealed it will open its new restaurant on the site of the current council waste depot, off Darklands Road, in the town, next year, after years of searching for a suitable site in Swadlincote.

The current waste depot site will move to a new base off Hearthcote Road, Swadlincote.

It has also been revealed the land will house a Marston’s pub as well. Although the firm is yet to verify these details with the Burton Mail, they have been confirmed by South Derbyshire District Council’s chief executive Frank McArdle. Building work is due to start next year.

A day centre and residential unit for young people with mental health difficulties will be the final buildings to set up home on the site.

A KFC spokesman said: “We’re happy to confirm that we’re going to start building work on a new KFC for Swadlincote in 2018. The new restaurant will be a drive-thru, and will create around 50 jobs for people in the local area.”

KFC restaurant
Fried chicken will be on the menu in Swadlincote

The news was revealed by Mr McArdle at the recent Swadlincote Area Forum meeting.

He said: “The council depot will soon go to the industrial site off Hearthcote Road.

“We have had deals made by KFC to build a fast food restaurant and Marston's to build a pub. There will also be a day centre and residential centre for young people with mental health difficulties.

“It is a gateway site. They have been falling over themselves to get the site. Work starts on the site in September.”

It comes after South Derbyshire District Council previously announced it was moving its current waste depot to Boardman Industrial Estate, Boardman Road, off Hearthcote Road, after plans were approved earlier this year – more than six years after the proposal was drawn up.

The council is using the cash generated from the sale of land north off William Nadin Way, Swadlincote, to pay for the new depot.

Work on 158 homes, off William Nadin Way, by developers is now well under way.

The new depot will see car parking increase from 47 to 52, and there will be space for maintenance to council vehicles in the district, overnight parking for bin collection vans, MoT of taxis, vehicle wash and refueling, sand and grit storage, and mower storage.

The council hopes to save more money with its new depot through energy-saving measures.

KFC is also building a shop restaurant in Ashby

The Swadlincote KFC comes after a branch of the chicken chain will also be built in Ashby. Eighteen jobs are set to be created as a KFC rand Starbucks coffee shop go in as part of a petrol station next to a busy roundabout in the town. The Euro Garages development will be built on land off Flagstaff Island, which is currently undergoing improvement work.

Plans, which include the building of road-related facilities - petrol filling, service station, restaurant, cafe, forecourts and parking areas - have now been approved by North West Leicestershire District Council's planning committee.

The land, which is currently unused and is on a spur road (Lountside) off the roundabout at the junction of the A511 with the A42. A McDonald's Drive Thru and a Premier Lodge hotel/pub are located nearby. The newly-approval plans will also provide HGV facilities, a convenience store including Subway and Greggs outlets, ATM, Starbucks drive through coffee shop and a KFC drive through with associated car parking and landscaping.

Just who are KFC?

KFC was founded by Colonel Harland Sanders, an entrepreneur who began selling fried chicken from his roadside restaurant in Corbin, Kentucky during the Great Depression. Sanders identified the potential of the restaurant franchising concept, and the first "Kentucky Fried Chicken" franchise opened in Utah in 1952.