McDonald’s says it has no current plans to open a second restaurant on Sheppey, despite strong rumours it was looking at a new site.

It was understood a location had been identified in Queenborough – five miles from the company’s Bobbing eatery and three miles from the Golden Arches in Sheerness.

Major franchisee Paul Crocker was said to be eyeing a plot near the new Aldi supermarket and opposite the giant Aldi distribution centre.

A spur road has been built giving access to the land which is across the A249 from Neats Court.

However, a McDonald’s spokesman said on Tuesday that there were no current plans to open a new business on Sheppey.

But he would not be drawn on whether any discussions had taken place.

Mr Crocker, who employs 1,700 people in the county, owns more than 20 McDonald’s franchises in Britain – 16 of them in Kent.

He took on his first McDonald’s in Margate almost 30 years ago.

If McDonald’s were to move in, it would be competing with other restaurants and takeaways at Neats Court, including KFC, Burger King and Starbucks.

The proposed site also neighbours the newly-built Wallbrook Business Park, where an as yet unconfirmed Island employer is set to relocate.