PLANS for a third McDonald's in Maidstone still hang in the balance many months after an apparent breakthrough in the scheme.

Discussions are continuing between McDonald's and Electricity Supply Nominees (ESN), which owns the site in St Peter's Street, where plans have been approved for a restaurant in St Peter's Wharf overlooking the River Medway.

Tim Waters, a planning consultant for ESN, said a progress report would be announced soon.

He was speaking seven months after ESN secured permission from Maidstone Borough Council to build a restaurant.

ESN has said the most likely operator of the restaurant would be McDonald's but no official agreement has yet been reached.

McDonald's spokeswoman Alison Purves said: "We are looking at the plan as a possibility and nothing more. It is one of a series of sites that we are looking at in the region."

Her comments come amid speculation that ESN's negotiations with McDonald's may be stalling over the very expensive pre-condition of making the contaminated St Peter's Wharf site fit for development.

McDonald's staff have said that if the fast-food chain went ahead with the plans for St Peter's Street, it would keep open its other Maidstone outlets.