A campaign to stop a McDonald’s opening on Fulford Road in York has already been launched, only days after the plan was revealed.
As we reported on Sunday, the fast food giant wants to convert the former Iceland supermarket into a restaurant.
But Joe Redshaw, who is coordinating a community fightback against the plan, says it’s the wrong place for such a venue.
He had a “massive” response from neighbours only hours after circulating a flier about the plans. He’s meeting city councillors and hopes to hold a public meeting later this month.
Joe, who lives on Maple Grove next to the old Iceland, said he has nothing against McDonald’s and occasionally eats at its restaurants himself – but “it’s not the right place”.
“It will take a lot of effort to defeat this proposal from such a powerful operator as McDonald’s,” he says. “But once its there, we will never be able to get rid of it.”
Traffic ‘already appalling’
The biggest problem is traffic, Joe believes. “My real issue, that I think everybody on Fulford Road would be concerned about, is the traffic impact.
“The traffic on this road is appalling. The commute on a morning, it can be static for a good hour. The evening traffic going out is even worse.
“And when you factor in the busy seasonal periods, the high summer and all through November, December, January with the Designer Outlet Winter Wonderland, it gets absolutely gridlocked.
“Without a doubt, the McDonald’s would attract more people to come to that site. It will increase the weight of traffic especially around those busy periods when it’s already at capacity.”
The car park is already about 80% full on a normal day with shoppers visiting the Aldi store, said Joe. “I don’t think there’s the capacity there.”
He also said there are five schools within a quarter of a mile of the site. A fast food restaurant would take the students “away from healthier options”.
“It’s a really family-based residential area. There are schools a-go-go. We can’t have McDonald’s there.
“On this stretch, there’s five or six little community sandwich shops and bakeries and things. They’re going to get absolutely wiped out. It’s not good. It’s just not the right place.”
Joe cited other grounds for refusing the McDonald’s restaurant, including the smells, the potential for anti-social behaviour, litter and the noise early in the morning and late at night.
He suspects the large kitchens shown on the plans would operate outside out of the restaurant’s 7am-11pm opening times, to supply couriers delivering to the university and elsewhere.
Joe plans to contact the schools and the Army barracks to ask for their support in the campaign.
And he is appealing for anyone with experience of fighting a planning application like this, or who has expertise in planning and traffic, to support the campaign. If you can help, you can email Joe on [email protected].
In their planning documents, McDonald’s say a traffic assessment shows a new restaurant would have limited impact on traffic, and any extra noise would be minimal.
You can read their submission here.