Fans of two franchise chain giants will have welcomed seeing work beginning on Peel Road for the building of KFC and Starbucks stores.

The two companies will be sharing the former Eurocars site on Peel Road in Douglas after an application (18/00977/B) by Buchanan Services Ltd was approved last year by the planning committee.

Since the start of this week, large machinery has been delivered to the site while rubble left over from the site when the Eurocars garage was demolished has been cleared.

Work also appears to have included some ground break as large machines have been used to dig a big hole

Once open, KFC will operate with opening hours of 11am to 11pm and Starbucks from 6am to 10pm, both for seven days a week.

The application was not without controversy. It was over a year before it was brought before the committee to make a decision on.

Residents living near the site, the director of public health Dr Henrieta Ewart and Ballakermeen High School head teacher Adrienne Burnett all raised objections to the opening of the KFC store.

However, planners made it clear while they sympathised with the concerns for the health of people, they can’t reject planning applications for those reasons.

The planning committee was also satisfied with the extensive detail provided by transport engineers Bryan Hall on how the sites would operate and not cause the problems seen with McDonald’s store which at times has brought Peel Road to a halt.

The site will also include a third unit but the use of this was not known when the application was made.

An opening date is yet to be announced.