UPDATE 24/02/2016 - Please also ensure that you submit any personal objections to South Gloucestershire council using the planning application number below. Marie has said, these must be factual and not subjective. I have spoken to Marie Bath (Case Officer for this application), who has said she will not likely be making a decision on this for a couple of weeks, so she is welcoming still further objections. This petition will serve a purpose however, if and when planning is granted and then our local councillors ask for it to be taken to a committee. Please avoid any anonymous comments on this petition, they should have your full name and contact, whether that be the first line of your address, or email.

The consultation end date for planning application PK15/5147/F, is this Friday the 26th of February. This was confirmed by Cllr Rachael Hunt today. For this reason, we have chosen to start with an online petition, due to time constraints. Please notify your neighbours and refer them to the web address and ask them to sign the petition.

We invite all residents of Lyde Green, Emersons Green and the surrounding areas to support this petition. We want to send a strong message to any committee who may decide on this matter, that as a community we strongly object to the plans for a McDonalds.

Some of the main reasons for opposition to the McDonalds and subsequent retail plans are:

• The site is prominent in views from the ring road towards Lyde Green and vice versa, and is situated in a key strategic location at the gateway to the new community. The scale, significance and impact of this proposal would, therefore, be vast. As such, the design of this development must be of sufficient quality to act as a landmark. The proposed design fails to achieve this.
• In addition, the Emersons Green and Lyde Green areas are in need of facilities for leisure and play, as required by Policy CS1 of the Core Strategy. The site has a lapsed planning permission for such a use which was in place when the original planning permission for Lyde Green was granted and would, consequently, have been a consideration in the decision to allow the development of a vast number of houses. In this respect, the proposal also fails to complement the town vision for the Emersons Green area as set out in the Emersons Green Draft Town Profile (May 2015), the Policies Sites and Places DPD and required by Policy CS1. Policy PSP53, amongst other key aims set out in section 4, of the DPD and LC1 of the Local Plan state that this site should be safeguarded for leisure purposes.
• Policy CS1 of the Core Strategy also requires that where schemes are of a sufficient size, which this one is, community consultation should be taken account of in submitting a proposal. The neighbouring residents already living in Lyde Green, extremely close to the proposed site, have not been informed or appropriately consulted on this scheme. It was through sheer blind luck that someone from a newly formed community group stumbled across the application and informed others. This does not show an acceptable consideration of the views of the local community by the developer.
• The proposed development would be extremely close to these neighbouring residential areas and would almost certainly cause harm through noise and disturbance and odour. This would be exacerbated by the proposed 24 hour opening of the fast food unit which would cause an unwarranted degree of noise at all hours. This is not acceptable in such close proximity to a residential area. Deliveries by large lorries would also cause disturbance to neighbouring residents. This is in direct conflict with Local Plan Policy RT1 which states that retail development must not harm residential amenity.
• The development is also in conflict with Core Strategy Policy CS8 which states that developments which are car dependant or promote unsustainable travel behaviour will not be supported. The introduction of a drive-thru aspect to the fast food unit clearly promotes the use of motor vehicles.
• Avon and Somerset Constabulary have highlighted the potential for conflict between pedestrians and vehicles due to the poor layout of the car park area and lack of designated pedestrian areas. Also raising concerns with regards to the potential for anti-social behaviour; this is a particular concern given the nature of the uses. The fast food unit will attract people leaving the pub at closing time, and with plans to remain open 24hours, people will congregate in an area which, after the pub and supermarket are closed, will not benefit from any natural surveillance and will become dark and enclosed.
• The proposed fast food unit at plot 3 would also be boxy and unwieldy in appearance and would fail to provide the visual interest and landmark appearance required in such a prominent location. Consequently, the proposal would cause a significant degree of harm to the character and appearance of the area.