BURGER giant McDonald's has submitted plans to erect a unique version of its famous golden M sign at its new restaurant in the Ribble Valley.

In August last year, the fast food chain ditched its original plans for its trademark 8ft golden arches in a bid to get permission for the restaurant and drive-thru at the Ribble Valley Enterprise Park at Barrow.

Ribble Valley Council has received an application to erect the famous M on a stone pillar, reducing the height by nearly half to just over four metres high.

A spokesman for the council's planning department said: "The new sign is in keeping with what we advised McDonald's to design.

"It will be a mixture of brick and artificial stone with the golden M on top and will be more sympathetic to the area than the more well-known modern design."

Architects at the multi-national food firm have also redesigned the restaurant so it will be clad in stone and the roof made of blue slate, unlike the majority of its drive-thru outlets.

McDonald's previously confirmed that very few of its restaurants were built without the giant M and there is only believed to be one other in the North West, in Preston.

They have also reduced the number of illuminated signs on the roof of the single-storey restaurant. Plans for the restaurant were initially deferred after councillors expressed concerns about the visual impact on the area and the volume of traffic which would pass near the site on the A59,

Other concerns, such as the fact McDonald's was not the sort of food chain thew council had in mind when they drew up a scheme for the old printworks site and the fact it would create litter, were also raised.

But a traffic study revealed that the new development would create "not significant" increase in traffic.

A spokesman said: "It is considered that the addition of the McDonald's development traffic will not result in any capacity or queueing problems at the roundabout or the A59. It is important the project is in keeping with the countryside."

Michael Hosay, from McDonald's, said: "We will be creating 65 full and part-time jobs on a site where development has been slow. We believe our presence will help unlock that site.

Comments on the application should be submitted to Ribble Valley Borough Council's planning department by March 8.