Homeowners have been forced to build a fortress around their property after a dispute erupted with McDonald’s over a damaged fence.
Rachel Laidler and her husband Peter complained that the fast food chain’s building works – which went ahead without planning permission – had damaged her wall after a 15ft trench for a water treatment tank caused the concrete to slip and crack.
“The sign has been great – it’s made people smile but also let them know that we’re not happy with what’s gone on,” she told The Sun.
“McDonald’s weren’t listening to us, the council hasn’t listened and all we want if for them to come around and talk to us.
“They’d stopped answering our emails but since the banner went up, we did get a reply, so it has worked to an extent.
“The plan was to leave up the banner for a week and take it down, because we actually need the wood to stop the concrete posts from falling over.
“We’re having to build our own fortress to protect our house until this is all resolved.”
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
Laider’s husband, Peter, was undergoing treatment for throat cancer when the building works to turn an ex-Kashmiri restaurant that had fallen into disrepair into a McDonald’s had been announced.
The 55-year-old claims that no approved plan existed for a water treatment tank to be installed so close to her property, which she and her partner built seven years ago.
McDonald’s maintains that it is “confident the proper procedures were adhered to.”
The homeowner added: “Since the banner went up, we’ve had civil engineers and structural engineers contacting us, saying ‘can you send me photos?’, ‘how has this ever got passed?’ These are people we’ve never heard of before who can’t believe what’s happened.
“If people we don’t know are contacting us in disbelief, we know we’ve got a case.”
The homeowner had a good relationship with the builders until they dug a 15 ft hole on the other side of her fence, causing it to slip and crack (Google image)
Google Street View
Despite 595 objections, planning permission for McDonald’s to make alterations to the building and car park and install the underground waste water treatment tank was granted last year.
Laidler said: “We love our house and we don’t mind their being a McDonald’s next door. They’ve done a lovely job on the building and it’s nice to hear the sound of excited children.
“We don’t hear any car doors or anything and it has been busy because it’s newly open. We’re not being Nimbys about this. We are just struggling to understand how such a big company could act in this way.”
A spokesperson for McDonald’s said: “Relevant experts have assured us that the relocated tank does not impact neighbours or the surrounding area in any way, and we are working with the planning authority to make sure they are satisfied the correct procedures have been followed, and will follow any further steps they ask us to take.”
“We have made a commitment to repair the damaged fence and this week we contacted the neighbour to discuss next steps.”
