Town and country: The bunfight over McDonald’s in two very different locations

3 months ago 17

From a quiet corner of regional Victoria to a bustling stretch in inner-city Melbourne, an iconic fast food behemoth is facing stubborn resistance from local communities intent on keeping it away.

In the outer Bendigo suburb of Strathfieldsaye and in Northcote in Melbourne’s inner north, residents are banding together to stop McDonald’s from opening restaurants.

The site of the proposed McDonald’s in Strathfieldsaye.

But the global chain has vowed to pursue all options to build the two new restaurants after local councils rejected its recent permit applications. In both cases, a legal challenge from McDonald’s appears all but inevitable.

Last month, the City of Greater Bendigo’s council officers recommended the McDonald’s application for a new outlet be approved. But councillors rejected that advice and refused the application.

Though community opponents of the Strathfieldsaye McDonald’s welcomed the councillors’ decision, some say the council officers’ approach to that site over the past five years has been puzzling.

Four years ago, the Bendigo council opposed plans to build a medical centre, pharmacy and service station in the fast-growing satellite town. The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT), however, overruled the council and gave the medical centre a green light. While the 7-Eleven service station proceeded and is operating, the medical centre and pharmacy failed to materialise.

Resident Robert Stephenson opposes the proposed McDonald’s outlet.

Now, the application to build a new McDonald’s outlet on the same site has triggered a community backlash, attracting 141 objections with a petition containing 95 signatures. There was only one letter of support.

Some of the objectors’ concerns included negative impacts to neighbourhood character, disturbance from 24-hour operations, increased litter, light, noise and sound pollution, and poor public health outcomes.

Bendigo councillor Damien Hurrell told the recent council meeting that objectors likely represented a larger number of people who were unhappy about the proposal, and said he agreed with many of their concerns.

“I, personally, recall that for many years I took advantage of various fast food outlets, including McDonald’s, to have a cheeky meal on the way home from work before cooking and eating yet another meal shortly afterwards,” he said. “I have no doubt that [this] habit, amongst others, contributed to significant weight gain and a near diagnosis of type two diabetes for myself.”

Proposed Strathfieldsaye McDonald’s site.

The subject site is zoned mixed-use. But Hurrell questioned whether a fast food outlet was an appropriate use of the land, which he said was intended to blend small and medium businesses with medium-density residential areas.

Other councillors cited increased traffic, concerns about signage and the continuous operating hours among their reasons for opposing the McDonald’s.

The Victorian government is considering including health and food security in planning provisions – a change recommended in a recent parliamentary inquiry into food security – that would allow councils to decide on fast food development applications on dietary grounds alone.

Strathfieldsaye Primary School council president Alex Forrest welcomed the council’s decision, but said he expected McDonald’s would challenge the refusal at VCAT and pledged to join the council’s defence if necessary.

Councillors in Bendigo raised concerns about McDonald’s signage for its proposed development site in Strathfieldsaye.

Strathfieldsaye resident Rob Stephenson, a leading opponent of the development, said the presence of a McDonald’s restaurant and the accompanying increase in traffic may also deter families from riding or walking to school.

He said the councillors had made the right call in rejecting their officers’ recommendation.

“I was happy they considered the range of objections and potential impact the proposed development would have on traffic and therefore the safety of children and other vulnerable road users,” Stephenson said.

A McDonald’s spokeswoman said the company was disappointed with the Bendigo council’s decision, and the proposed site represented an investment exceeding $5 million. She said the mixed-use zone permitted commercial development.

A render of the proposed McDonald’s restaurant for 323 High Street in Northcote.

“We are reviewing our options to pursue this site further,” she said.

In Melbourne, the City of Darebin voted 6-3 against a permit application from McDonald’s to build a 24-hour restaurant on High Street in Northcote. Similar to the Bendigo case, Darebin councillors rejected the advice of council officers and opposed the application during their November meeting.

Thousands of residents also signed a petition against the proposed outlet on the commercial-zoned property.

A McDonald’s spokeswoman said the application met all planning requirements.

“We see strong potential in Northcote and intend to pursue all available avenues to progress this site,” she said.

The disused site on High Street, where a plan to build a McDonald’s has been rejected.

Darebin confirmed it would defend its position at VCAT if an appeal were to be lodged.

Planning Institute of Australia Victorian president Patrick Fensham said Victoria’s planning system did not distinguish between types of franchises or specific outlets or restaurants, which meant councillors could not reject applications from fast food operators because they didn’t like their products.

He said councillors were required to assess development applications purely on planning grounds, including lighting, traffic and appropriate land uses. But Fensham said councils did consider social and environmental impacts when assessing development applications.

“It’s likely that organisations with substantial budgets, like multinational fast food franchises, would pursue their position at appeal vigorously,” he said.

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