There will be no Big Macs or McChicken Sandwiches on sale in Ballina in the near future after Ballina Town Council turned down an application by McDonald’s to develop a new premises in the town.
The global fast food giant had lodged an application with the local authority for a two storey McDonald’s restaurant with a drive through located at the old Deanwood Hotel on Bury Street, Ballina. The application was turned down by the council on December 14. The council had received a number of submissions and objections from a number of parties on the development during the application stages.
Council planners gave three reasons for the refusal. The first was that the development would result in an underutilisation of a prominent town centre site against the objectives of the town development plan. The second reason was that the use of a flat roof and modular wood panel facade would also contravene the plan. The final reason was that the council believed that the development would seriously injure the amenities and depreciate the value of existing dwellings in its vicinity for a number of reasons including general disturbance including increased traffic, noise, litter and odour arising from the drive through.
