{"id":78392,"date":"2025-05-06T06:04:09","date_gmt":"2025-05-06T06:04:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/78392\/"},"modified":"2025-05-06T06:04:09","modified_gmt":"2025-05-06T06:04:09","slug":"inside-the-mcdonalds-row-in-a-trendy-birmingham-suburb","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/78392\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside the McDonald\u2019s row in a trendy Birmingham suburb"},"content":{"rendered":"

McDonald\u2019s<\/a> incurred the wrath of many residents in the trendy Birmingham<\/a> area of Stirchley last year when it revealed proposals for a new restaurant<\/a> and drive-through in the area.<\/p>\n

The divisive plans, for a site off Hazelwell Lane, quickly became a huge talking point in the suburb, which has garnered a reputation for unique and independent businesses<\/a> in recent years.<\/p>\n

Amid fears over traffic, litter and Stirchley\u2019s character, residents made a defiant stand and brandished signs reading \u2018I\u2019m hatin\u2019 it\u2019 and \u2018St. Irchley will not bless McDonald\u2019s here\u2019 during November\u2019s demonstration.<\/p>\n

Months later and those concerned Brummies finally got their wish, with McDonald\u2019s confirming this week that it is ditching its controversial proposals.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have decided not to move forward with the Stirchley application,\u201d a McDonald\u2019s spokesperson said. \u201cAs with any site, there are many factors that mean we might not go ahead and after further operational analysis here, we have taken this decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe look forward to exploring other opportunities to bring McDonald\u2019s to the area in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TheThe McDonald\\\\\\\\\\\\\\’s restaurant was proposed for vacant brownfield land off Hazelwell Lane, Stirchley in Birmingham. Credit: Alexander Brock. Permission for use for all LDRS partners.<\/p>\n

This was welcome news for many residents who fought back against the fast food giant\u2019s proposals by making their voices heard.<\/p>\n

As well as the protest, more than 1,800 people signed an online petition to \u2018reject the construction of a McDonald\u2019s in Stirchley\u2019.<\/p>\n

Cassandra Kirk-Gould, who launched the petition, wrote that Stirchley\u2019s spirit was rooted in small businesses and urged residents to \u201cstand together against unwanted, unnecessary developments\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cTogether, we can preserve Stirchley\u2019s independent weirdness and protect the interests of our community,\u201d she said. \u201cPrevent more of the same old stuff you see everywhere moving in.\u201d<\/p>\n

The row also saw politicians wade into the debate. The areas\u2019 MP, Al Carns, spoke out against the proposal last year, saying he did not believe that McDonald\u2019s \u201cwould integrate well into Stirchley\u2019s economy\u201d.<\/p>\n

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service this week, the Labour MP said he was pleased to hear that McDonald\u2019s had decided not to proceed with its plans.<\/p>\n

\u201cI voiced my opposition to the proposal last November after speaking with many residents, small businesses and Councillor Mary Locke,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t believe then, and I don\u2019t believe now, that a McDonald\u2019s would be right for Stirchley or the wider area.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AA general image of Stirchley. Credit: Alexander Brock. Permission for use for all LDRS partners.<\/p>\n

He went on to say that Stirchley is home to many \u201cfantastic\u201d independent businesses that provide high-quality services for residents.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese businesses keep money in our local economy and contribute to our community,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will continue to support and champion these local heroes who all play their part in making Stirchley the brilliant and unique place it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Several residents were similarly pleased, with Sajid Mehmood saying: \u201cGood decision \u2013 now we need more trees, green belts and playing areas.\u201d<\/p>\n

Deborah Suzanne said: \u201cSomething for the youth would be great, seeing as they lost a bowling alley and a very popular gym.<\/p>\n

\u201cHopefully not another food place, surely there\u2019s only so much eating people can do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe last thing the world needs is another Mcdonald\u2019s,\u201d Simeon Thaw said.<\/p>\n

Chris Lepkowski reacted by saying: \u201cAll those fantastic places to eat \u2013 why lower the tone with a McDonald\u2019s?\u201d<\/p>\n

Others questioned whether it was a missed opportunity in terms of the local jobs or cheap food and drink products that would have been on offer.<\/p>\n

Cheryl Homer said: \u201cWhile I\u2019m pleased about this, let\u2019s not lose sight of the fact that there are residents here who cannot afford a cup of tea on our high street anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

Residents last year also spoke positively about the investment McDonald\u2019s would have put into the area as well as the convenience for those with children.<\/p>\n

The online consultation page launched last year said the benefits of a local McDonald\u2019s would have included around 100 new jobs; the regeneration of a vacant brownfield site and a multi-million-pound investment into the Stirchley area.<\/p>\n

It said there would have been a \u201ccarefully planned internal queuing system\u201d to regulate traffic as well as recycling and waste facilities to encourage disposal of rubbish and reduce littering.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe site is currently disused, brownfield land, next to Aldi,\u201d the consultation page read. \u201cThe area has been vacant for a number of years.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe area can be subject to misuse, and a recent site visit revealed hazardous debris on the land.<\/p>\n

\u201cMcDonald\u2019s proposals, if approved, would regenerate this derelict site and bring it into restaurant use for the whole community to enjoy.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is well located, just off a main road and close to other restaurants, bars and retail space in the area.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"McDonald\u2019s incurred the wrath of many residents in the trendy Birmingham area of Stirchley last year when it…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":78393,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7820],"tags":[855,748,393,4884,8823,379,12,285,2516,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-78392","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-birmingham","8":"tag-birmingham","9":"tag-britain","10":"tag-england","11":"tag-great-britain","12":"tag-ldrs","13":"tag-local-hubs","14":"tag-news","15":"tag-politics","16":"tag-property","17":"tag-uk","18":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114459381830093686","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78392","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=78392"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78392\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/78393"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=78392"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=78392"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=78392"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}