{"id":101924,"date":"2025-08-28T10:24:12","date_gmt":"2025-08-28T10:24:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/101924\/"},"modified":"2025-08-28T10:24:12","modified_gmt":"2025-08-28T10:24:12","slug":"aussies-launch-a-massive-fight-against-mcdonalds-and-claim-a-huge-win-unacceptable","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/101924\/","title":{"rendered":"Aussies launch a massive fight against McDonald’s and claim a huge win: ‘Unacceptable’"},"content":{"rendered":"

McDonald’s has scrapped its controversial bid to open a restaurant in one of Sydney<\/a>‘s most affluent suburbs after fierce opposition from residents, who warned the move would erode the area’s exclusive village atmosphere.<\/p>\n

The American burger giant had proposed converting a former Westpac<\/a> bank branch into a 24\/7 restaurant along the bustling Willoughby Road high street in Crows Nest.<\/p>\n

North Sydney Council emailed concerned residents on Wednesday confirming McDonald’s had withdrawn its development application.<\/p>\n

The companys submitted its $2.6million proposal to council in May 2025, stating it would create approximately 100 jobs.<\/p>\n

Among the complaints raised during a Wollstonecraft precinct meeting were the large, unsightly exhaust stacks proposed for the store, which residents said would emit ‘unacceptable’ smells in the heart of the suburb.<\/p>\n

Resident Jamie Vachon, who petitioned against the application, said the Crows Nest Metro Station would be a more suitable location for a McDonald’s outlet.<\/p>\n

‘Crows Nest residents understand that our suburb is changing,’ she said.<\/p>\n

‘We now have a Subway, Oporto, Ogalo, El Jannah, and other chain food options.<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The American burger giant had proposed converting a former Westpac bank branch into a 24\/7 restaurant along the bustling Willoughby Road high street in Crows Nest.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

‘While few of us would be happy with the addition of a McDonald’s, there is nothing open 24\/7 in Crows Nest, and all this proposal would do is allow drunken patrons from the Crows Nest Hotel to visit a McDonald’s around the corner rather than going home.<\/p>\n

‘It’ll bring crime, vandalism, litter, and random delivery drivers on footpaths and streets at all hours.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘As well, there is an existing rodent problem behind the Crows Nest restaurants and this would have exacerbated things.<\/p>\n

‘This is nothing but a money grab by McDonald’s with no care for the community.’<\/p>\n

The council considers late-night trading hours a ‘privilege, not a right,’ with only the Crows Nest Hotel currently open past midnight.<\/p>\n

McDonald’s already has restaurants nearby in North Sydney, St Leonards, and Cremorne.<\/p>\n

Across the country, furious Aussies have been banding together to block McDonald’s aggressive plan to open 50 new outlets by the end of 2026.<\/p>\n

Despite already operating 1,053 stores nationwide, McDonald’s latest push into neighbourhoods, from inner-city Newtown in Sydney to leafy Hendra in Brisbane, is fuelling local resistance over traffic and the loss of local identity.<\/p>\n

The latest flashpoint is in Newtown, where a development application was recently lodged for a 24\/7 outlet in a renovated late-Victorian building next to the popular, family-run Clem’s Chicken.<\/p>\n

In May, a McDonald’s in Redfern was blocked after strong objections from police and Aboriginal organisations. A proposal for a franchise in the northern Sydney suburb of Balgowlah was also rejected by the Northern Beaches Local Planning Panel over community concerns about traffic congestion and potential antisocial behaviour.<\/p>\n

In Melbourne’s inner north, a planning proposal submitted to Darebin City Council seeking to convert a vacant site into a 24\/7 McDonald’s outlet has been opposed by the community, citing concerns about preserving the area’s character.<\/p>\n

In the Brisbane suburb of Hendra, a new McDonald’s was granted council approval in January prompting residents to raise a fighting fund to lodge a Planning and Environment Court appeal against the plans.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

It is the first time in Australia that a character residential site has been rezoned for a fast food outlet.<\/p>\n

However, Hendra Locals Against McDonald’s spokesman Bil Moore told 4BC Brisbane last week they simply did not have the financial power to take on the fast food giant.<\/p>\n

‘It was doomed to failure,’ he said.<\/p>\n

‘The residents feel terribly overlooked by Brisbane City Council.<\/p>\n

‘We clearly weren’t heard. Five houses now have a 24\/7 fast food drive-through as their next-door neighbour.’<\/p>\n

\"ANZ\u00a0estimates <\/p>\n

ANZ\u00a0estimates Australia could have at least 30,000 quick service and fast-food outlets by 2030<\/p>\n

Moore said he believed councils ‘run scared’ of fighting McDonald’s.<\/p>\n

‘I can’t blame them,’ he said.<\/p>\n

‘Down in South Australia, residents fought for six years before the Safety Beach McDonald’s was finally approved.<\/p>\n

‘This happens all over the world.<\/p>\n

‘Taking on these fast food giants with monstrous budgets and highly skilled legal teams, that’s all they do.<\/p>\n

‘You’re taking on the biggest fast food company in the world.’<\/p>\n

Moore said ANZ’s Food, Beverage, and Agribusiness Insights report estimated Australia could have at least 30,000 quick service and fast-food outlets by 2030.<\/p>\n

‘There is a wider conversation to be had in Australia, particularly in Brisbane with the Olympics coming,’ he said.<\/p>\n

‘This could be repeated many times over, where someone in a residential property could have an unwanted neighbour.’<\/p>\n

McDonald’s was contacted for comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"McDonald’s has scrapped its controversial bid to open a restaurant in one of Sydney‘s most affluent suburbs after…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":101925,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[64,63,651,99,100,44],"class_list":["post-101924","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-brisbane","tag-business","tag-dailymail","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101924","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101924"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101924\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/101925"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101924"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101924"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101924"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}