McDonald's has been told it cannot sell hot meals past midnight in Didcot after a nearby homeowner raised fears that “drinks and half-eaten burgers” would be left on her wall.
The fast food giant had applied for a licence to serve burgers, fries and other hot food from 11pm to 5am at its prospective restaurant in the Orchard Centre.
But at South Oxfordshire District Council’s licensing committee meeting on Thursday (October 19), members heard from a woman who lives near Broadway, across from the future McDonald's.
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She said: “We already have issues with people walking up and down those streets during the night… and we have issues with dustbin lorries coming incredibly early and shaking the foundations.
“If McDonald’s is open through the night, regardless of whether the behaviour is anti-social or not, you’re going to have a lot of extra people walking up and down our street, leaving their drinks and half-eaten burgers on my wall, sitting on my wall and having a little chat.
“The extra footfall will be horrendous.”
A McDonald's representative at the meeting responded that he was “greatly concerned with the idea that the youth of Didcot are inevitably going to run rampant and wild…”
He said that CCTV cameras would stop anti-social behaviour and that staff would carry out litter-picks throughout the day to keep the area tidy.
Despite his arguments, the council only extended the company’s licence by an hour, meaning it can serve hot food from 11pm to 12am.
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