Plans for west Cumbria’s first KFC have moved a step forward - and an application has been lodged for another new food outlet in Workington town centre.

KFC is ploughing through a number of planning hurdles it needs to clear before building work can begin on its new outlet on the outskirts of town.

Meanwhile, bosses at Washington Square shopping centre have lodged plans for a restaurant and takeaway in the former Edinburgh Woollen Mill shop on Ivison Lane.

The move suggests the town is keeping up with national trends as new data shows the number of new cafes, fast food outlets and restaurants opening has shot up across the UK.

Those in charge of the shopping centre say exciting times are ahead as 98 per cent of the units are now filled.

The latest plans, lodged with Allerdale council, come two months after Dave Fletcher, the shopping centre’s development manager, said the owners were in talks with two or three chains interested in moving into the premises.

However, he said yesterday that at the moment no company was earmarked to move into the building but he was confident, once planning permission was in place, business could be attracted.

Nando’s has been rumoured to be among those interested in coming to the town.

The chain previously said it had no plans to open in Workington but did not confirm whether it was a target location.

Bosses at SSSA Planning, working on behalf of QFM Group, a franchisee of KFC, were unable to give a date for building work to start.