Stevenage’s town centre McDonalds will close this weekend.

A spokeswoman for the fast food chain has confirmed the restaurant in Town Square will shut this Sunday.

“The decision to close the restaurant was not taken lightly and all members of staff have been offered employment in our other restaurants nearby,” a spokeswoman previously told the Comet.

“We will continue to explore alternative opportunities within the area too.”

The town’s other two McDonalds, on Stevenage Leisure Park and Monkswood Retail Park, will remain.

About the news on McDonald’s closure, a Stevenage Borough Council spokeswoman previously told the Comet: “The departure of McDonald’s from the town centre is largely driven by a change in the company’s business model and – as Stevenage already has two existing McDonald’s, both of which have ‘drive-thrus’, and the town centre unit only regularly uses 50 per cent of its available space – they have chosen not to renew their lease.

“Planning permission has been granted for significant improvements to the block, and we are currently in discussions with a number of food and beverage outlets over moving into the existing McDonald’s facility and we are considering a range of options, including whether to keep this as a single unit or to convert it into two individual units.

“There is significant market interest in the units, partly driven by the regeneration that is already under way and will be introducing new brands into this space in the coming months.

“The redevelopment of Queensway North by Reef Developments – including the former M&S unit – is already under way and, with Mace signed as the development partner for SG1, it is an exciting time for Stevenage despite the challenging national picture around traditional retail.”