CAMPAIGNERS opposed to a third McDonald's being sited in Kidderminster have accused the company of showing "contempt" for objectors by pursuing their fight for planning approval.
The US fast food giant has made a third bid to build a restaurant on land between Park Street and Chapel Street, despite the rejection of two previous similar applications by district planners.
Residents have reacted with anger to the latest bid which features slightly scaled down proposals, with the number of seats cut from 85 to 60, and a more traditional-style design.
A spokesman for RAM (Residents Against McDonald's) said: "These repeated applications show contempt for over 1,000 residents who signed petitions and wrote letters of objection to the previous two applications; contempt for local businesses who vigorously opposed previous applications and contempt for the district plan- ning committee who have rejected both previous, similar applications."
He accused the multinational company of deliberately submitting the appli- cation close to Christmas in order to "deter" opposition and "put pressure on the planning committee."
He added: "We see no reason for McDonald's pursuing this campaign within our community for the sake of commercial gain. The construction of a McDonald's fast food drive-in restaurant in this residential area with the added traffic, noise, litter, lack of access, restricted parking and inconvenience is not in our interest and never will be - no matter how many applications McDonald's submit."
Sutton Park district councillor Rachel Lewis has called on residents to sign a petition, urging them to "make it a very big 'no' to Big Mac." McDonald's already has restaurants in Worcester Street and off Worcester Road.
A McDonald's spokesman said the revised application which included a smaller restaurant sited further away from houses showed it had taken note of residents' concerns.
"We understand the concerns raised but we feel we will be able to minimise the impact on the surrounding areas."
He added the restaurant would be an improvement on the derelict nature of the site currently and would create up to 60 full-time and part-time jobs.
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