SO many people are expected to descend on a McDonald’s restaurant when it opens this week that buses are being diverted away from the area.

Bus stops outside the Cineworld and McDonald’s at Brighton Marina will be suspended from tomorrow until Sunday.

The fast food chain shut all its UK outlets in March in a bid to help stop the spread of coronavirus.

Over the last month, the franchise has been teasing fans with the reopening of drive-throughs dotted across the UK.

But Sussex has been left in limbo as restaurants in the county have yet to reopen.

The Argus:

When contacted by The Argus, McDonald’s was still unable to confirm when it will winding up the shutters on its Sussex branches.

The chain has said that it hopes to have all drive-throughs open by Thursday.

But several readers say they have spotted “preparations” being made at the site and, with the latest announcement from Brighton and Hove Buses, the inevitable announcement could come tomorrow.

A spokeswoman for the bus company said: “A reminder that the bus stops outside Cineworld and McDonald’s in Brighton Marina - suspended from tomorrow until Sunday, June 7, due to heavy traffic anticipated in the area.

“Our number 7, 21, 21A and 23 services will terminate and restart from The Waterfront.”

The Argus:

Chaotic scenes followed McDonald’s announcement that it would be closing for the foreseeable future on March 23.

Huge queues stretched from the drive-through site in Eastern Avenue, Shoreham, in the hours before the takeaway shut.

The Argus:

Buses in the area were forced to divert around the traffic, which backed up into neighbouring roads causing lengthy delays.

Two bus stops, in Gordon Road and the town’s skate park, could not be used as the fast food frenzy unfolded.

  • At The Argus, we are championing the work of traders during the coronavirus pandemic as part of our #BackingSussexBusiness campaign. We are always interested to hear how the community is coming together in this crisis. If you know of a local business battling to do all it can in these tough times and/or offering support to the local community, please get in touch at laurie.churchman@theargus.co.uk and rose.lock@theargus.co.uk.