As exclusively revealed by the Tele nine months ago, right, the company has agreed a deal with the owners of the former Esso Clydeport filling station site on the busy A8 Greenock Road for a purpose-built facility.

Plans have now been lodged with Inverclyde Council seeking planning permission to start construction of a new restaurant with 29 parking spaces.

If approved, developers expect to be on site by November, with a possible spring 2016 completion date.

The arrival of a Burger King — just along from the popular Port retail park — would provide another major jobs boost for the town.

Project management company Kessington Group will develop the site on behalf of Esso parent company ExxonMobil.

Owner Craig Connelly is confident the plans will be approved and says it is a ‘promising’ venture.

He told the Tele: “We’re aiming to be on site by November and hopefully get the outlet finished next spring.

“It should take about eight months all in from when we start.

“The area is becoming a cracking centre for jobs and new units and that’s why Burger King saw it as a promising location. The firm said they would love to have a facility there — they see it as a progressive area.

“The redundant petrol station has been decommissioned over the last year by Esso.

“Once it’s cleared and tested around September or October that’s when we take possession and start building work.

“I am pretty optimistic that the plans will go through and we will get support from the local council.” Burger King’s rivals KFC had previously expressed an interest in the site. They applied for permission to build a restaurant there two years ago but later withdrew, citing ‘business reasons’.

The company had expected to create 45 new jobs.

The Esso Clydeport petrol station closed down four years ago with bosses deeming it ‘no longer financially viable’.

But it now seems that the prime Port site is set to be served up to Burger King as the dramatic regeneration of the town continues. The application is pending consideration by council planning officials.