DINERS hoping to munch their Big Macs in the Ribble Valley face a wait -- after councillors deferred a plan for the borough's first McDonald's.

But while members of the planning and development committee at Ribble Valley Borough Council said they would have to commission a traffic survey to see if the drive-thru could be built, they did agree that there should be no towering golden M above the restaurant.

McDonald's want to build their first store in the Ribble Valley off the A59 in Barrow, on a site which has been earmarked for a hotel and restaurant.

Councillors meeting in Clitheroe last night said that they did not believe McDonald's was the sort of restaurant they had in mind for the site when they drew up the scheme for the site.

But their primary concern was that the branch could attract burger fans from a 10-mile radius, causing traffic jams on the busy A59 as people queue to buy.

Independent councillor Jim Rogerson told the meeting: "I am gobsmacked we are calling this a restaurant. I think the many restaurateurs the Ribble Valley is rightly proud of would be appalled to be put in the same brackets as this place." Coun Graham Sowter added: "We do not know how much traffic this is going to cause. McDonald's attract people from a wide area, not just passing trade. We do not have enough information about traffic impact and we need that before we can make a decision.

"That is not to mention the massive amount of litter it will cause."

Coun Chris Holtam said: "This will have a big impact on traffic all day and probably cause tailbacks and traffic jams."

Planning officers will now present a traffic impact study to a future meeting of the planning committee.

But McDonald's will have to re-think plans for their seven-metre-high Golden Arches sign which is used across the globe to tell people there is a drive-thru close by. Councillors decided to refuse permission for one of the signs to be erected on the A59, saying it would be out of character and set a dangerous precedent for other developments. Coun Sowter added: "We are supposed to encourage developments which attract a lot of visitors in town centres and the like, where there is access to public transport so people don't use their cars that much.

"This scheme seems to contravene that idea altogether."

A spokesman for the council said: "Under planning laws McDonald's comes under the same category as a restaurant, and that area has been designated for that category."