Concerns over highways safety in the centre of a Cotswold town may lead to a new delay on a bid for the community's first KFC restaurant .

Planners at Stroud District Council have been asked to send the applicant back to the drawing board over concerns raised by the highways authority – it being likely that the bid will need to research the traffic safety implications of the Stroud project.

The bid first landed on planners' desks last February, seeking permission to convert a dilapidated former Cotswold Indoor Bowls club in Merrywalks, close to the town's railway station and immediately adjacent to the McDonald's site.

In total, the project would see five flats being built with restaurant and commercial space underneath comprising a combined KFC restaurant and Costa café, as well as 28 parking bays, three being disabled and five reserved for residents. 

Some 30 jobs would come from the new business, with 16 full-time and 14 part-time roles. If approved, the project will be a new pin in the map for award-winning franchise NNM Ltd, which is owned by Gloucestershire businessman Gerard Nicholas.

The bid, which is also close to a former Halfords store that has now been converted into a Tesco Express, had already triggered opposition from nearby businesses while neighbouring residents also added their concerns, one telling planners: "The traffic and emissions already increase when cars are turning to use the parking and drive-through at the current restaurant and an additional establishment would further increase traffic and congestion along the A46."

Early morning deliveries, ventilation and air conditioning systems would increase noise pollution, they claimed.

However, Autodeals, based on Stratford Road, has urged planners to permit the plan as a solution to a derelict site. The business said: 'Anything that tidies up derelict areas of Stroud should be given serious consideration... if this application is refused how much longer will this site be derelict for and what else is it suitable for?"

Another resident added: "All [objections] are important but can not be allowed to get in the way of finally doing away with an ugly derelict and quickly becoming dangerous blot on the landscape of our town."

Dursley-based Elevation One Building Design subsequently submitted more details to soundproofing for the work, but concerns raised over traffic and road safety by Stroud Town Council are being echoed by Gloucestershire Highways - and a deferral has now been requested.

Stroud Town Council told planners: "The bowls club has been closed for many years and traffic volumes have drastically increased since it went. The GCC Highways response to the KFC application assumes that there will be no parking allocated to the flats, which is incorrect."

Unless insisted, the council said, "we will be left with traffic movements that are dangerous, and the issues already caused by traffic turning into the site to access MacDonalds will be exacerbated."

The Highway Authority said it "would like to understand the overall cumulative impacts of movements into/out of this access and in general traffic congestion experienced along Merrywalks before reaching a final decision".

Tony Davey, the chair of Stroud Chamber of Trade, has meanwhile expressed his concern for the timescale on the proposal, which he said was "dragging on".

Any subsequent road safety appraisals could, he said, be a stimulus for the highways authority to assess the broader issues for the town, given a critical need for improvement to the Merrywalks roundabout and pedestrian crossings.