Hammersmith & Fulham (Parliament Politics Magazine) – A Fulham McDonald’s has been denied extended hours to 3AM after a 5.5-hour hearing, citing concerns over noise, crime, and 160 objections from residents.
After speaking with the Met Police, McDonald’s changed their original request for authorization to change the premises license to allow them to be open around-the-clock to closing at 1 a.m. on Sunday through Thursday and 3 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.
An existing license allows the North End Road location, which is ten minutes’ walk from Fulham Broadway station, to serve late-night refreshments and stay open until midnight.
The American fast-food giant had stated that the extra hours would provide its patrons more flexibility, but residents were concerned about the possible repercussions if Hammersmith and Fulham Council approved the expansion.
During a lengthy five-and-a-half-hour hearing of the Licensing Sub-Committee yesterday night (May 28), a number of local MP Ben Coleman, ward council members, and citizens lined up to ask that the motion be rejected.
Some of the objectors’ legal counsel, Jeremy Phillips KC, stated that he could not recall ever being a part of a licensing application that faced such opposition.
Given that it is situated in an area that is regarded as a crime hotspot, he informed the Sub-Committee that if the request is granted, the McDonald’s will become an outlier in the area with regard to opening hours.
He listed several particular issues that people had brought up with him, such as the claim made by one homeowner that the extended hours would make it “impossible to have a decent night’s sleep,” which would have a big impact on her little daughter.
“It’s that kind of thing which is not an abstract or a theoretical fancy,”
he said.
“It’s a real fear that is very likely…to be borne out in practice.”
He listed several particular issues that people had brought up with him, such as the claim made by one homeowner that the extended hours would make it “impossible to have a decent night’s sleep,” which would have a big impact on her little daughter.
“It’s my belief that by extending the operational hours of McDonald’s it’s only going to widen the window of ASB to occur, whether it be these groups of youths or whether it be those drinking in alcohol-led premises, resulting in increased call-outs to the already stretched police force,”
he told the Sub-Committee.
Eleanor Fiennes stated that she no longer walks home alone at night because she feels uncomfortable, while Sandra Zalagaityte said she has experienced problems such as being yelled at by delivery trucks and being followed to her front door by an inebriated guy.
“It’s all very well for them to say the Golden Arches, the nice bright light at the end of the street. I live at the opposite end of the street to McDonald’s. Are they going to walk me home at night when I’m coming back from work?”
McDonald’s legal counsel, Leo Charalambides, characterized the company as a responsible operator and asked the Sub-Committee members to limit their concerns to those pertinent to licensing.
He said it was a mystery to him why McDonald’s is “such a totemic target for local residents. It’s almost as if it’s an invitation to exercise general democratic rights to participate in local government and raise all sorts of concerns about whether the police are doing their job, whether the council is doing the job, concerns about the local area.”
McDonald’s is dedicated to participation and proactive problem-solving, according to Mr. Charalambides, who also talked extensively about the restaurant’s operations and how seriously it takes its responsibilities.
Although residents disputed this, he noted that McDonald’s late opening offers a safe haven and a sense of security for individuals strolling along the street, and that the restaurant cannot be held accountable for all of the issues that are allegedly occurring in the area.
He also criticized the Sub-Committee members in his summary after pointing out that it is their responsibility to give scrutiny during sessions.
“So it’s quite surprising that one councillor has one question, only one councillor engages with I think a small handful of local residents, and I’m really left wondering what scrutiny have you and your colleagues engaged with the evidence, or have you fallen into the trap that Mr Phillips warns you against, which is not to rely on untested opinions?”
After more than five and a half hours of debate, members declared their decision to reject the application. A representative for the local informal action group FulhamTogether stated after the meeting that a Big Mac “is a luxury, not a necessity” and that the purpose of the Licensing Act of 2003 is not to solely concentrate on the address of the business and the immediate neighborhood.
“The wider context in which the premises lies is crucial to decisions taken about licensable hours, operating hours, and general operations of a premises. For Fulham, residents must be the premier consideration for the Committee.”
A McDonald’s spokesperson said:
“We respect the council’s decision regarding our request to extend the opening hours of our North End Road restaurant and remain committed to serving our community within our current operating hours.”
Why was the extended opening hours request for McDonald’s in Fulham refused after the marathon meeting?
Residents and police officials cautioned that keeping the area open all night would increase crime and bad behavior, placing further strain on already overburdened police personnel in the face of severe budget cuts. The location is already identified as a Metropolitan Police hotspot.
Many families live close to business establishments in this densely populated district, which is almost four times the average for London. Long hours would damage inhabitants’ sleep and quality of life by causing daily noise and disturbance, particularly late at night.
Concerns were voiced regarding the impact on the Clement Attlee Estate’s surrounding schoolchildren as well as the potential for the property to turn into a 24-hour delivery hub, which would increase traffic, noise, and annoyance.