The exact date Kent’s newest McDonald’s is expected to open has been confirmed.

KentOnline exclusively revealed the US fast food giant was set to take up a prime position at Chatham Dockside in a major boost to the shopping centre’s exiting plans to become a “regional retail and leisure destination”.

The franchise will take up space formally occupied by long-standing tenant Choice, which has moved to another unit on the ground floor.

It will be the eighth McDonald’s franchise in Medway, the last opening at Hempstead Valley Shopping Centre last March.

Work is underway at the unit, and signs reveal the takeaway restaurant will open on August 6.

Last year, we revealed rapidly expanding pub and restaurant operators Loungers applied to move in next door to McDonald’s opposite Wagamama and Zizzi.

Centre manager Anthony Sutton previously said the forthcoming changes at the centre, which opened more than 20 years ago, would support its ambition to become a “regional retail and leisure destination”.

“Both the McDonald’s and Choice deals are a real testament to our commitment to Dockside and the broader Chatham Maritime project,” he said.

“We cannot wait to see them open their doors.”

Choice, which offers cut-price lines from Next, has moved into the Peacocks clothing store, which left the centre at the end of October.

WDC Ltd, the retail management company which owns Dockside, clinched a 25-year lease for the 5,000 sq ft outlet.

In December, controversial plans for a new McDonald’s drive-thru in Dover were approved – despite fears the fast-food chain “will look like it’s sponsoring England”.

Opponents say the 24-hour restaurant will be one of the first things tourists see when arriving in the country via the town’s port.

Elsewhere, plans to open a new McDonald’s restaurant on the site of a former Travelodge are set to be determined soon.

The fast-food giant tabled plans in 2023 to launch at the A2 London-bound Gate Services at Dunkirk, between Faversham and Canterbury.