Mosgiel residents rail against planned McDonald's

Mosgiel residents Malcolm and Lynda Anngow fear hoons, the glow of the golden arches and litter and noise from a proposed McDonald's restaurant will ruin their lifestyle and any chance of reselling their less than five-year-old property.

The couple, along with other residents in the Hartstonge Ave area, are dismayed at the prospect of being neighbours to a fast food restaurant rather than people in houses.

Mr Anngow said their living room was about one and a-half metres from where the drive-through would be positioned, signs would be visible from their couch and they would hear cars and see rubbish left behind.

They were concerned the restaurant would become a popular spot for "hoons" after dark.

Normally, Mosgiel was "stone silent" after 9pm.

"The council have dropped us in it," he said.

Reid Ave resident Shelley Ross said she bought her property as an investment about 18 months ago.

"What little old lady is going to want to buy a house next to a McDonald's?"

The site next to the New World Supermarket was bought in 2005 by Morclarke Developments (2005) Ltd and subdivided into five lots.

At that stage, resource consent was granted by the Dunedin City Council for residential building on the land, which is zoned large-scale retail, with residential buildings a complying activity.

In 2007, one section of the land, the one closest to the supermarket, was sold to Econ Ltd, whose director Edwin Morshuis then sold it to Elizabeth Brown, later found to be a proxy of McDonald's.

A McDonald's restaurant is a non-complying activity and therefore needs resource consent.

A resource consent application hearing is to be held next Thursday and council planner Karen Bain has recommended granting consent to McDonald's.

In a report, she said any actual or potential adverse effects on the surrounding environment would be no more than minor.

Eighteen submissions were received, with 17 opposing and one, from Foodstuffs, in partial support of the idea.

Council resource consents manager Alan Worthington said anyone could find out from the council the zoning of a piece of land.

It would not be appropriate to comment further because of the impending hearing, he said.

Patterson Pitts planner Don Anderson, who has been hired by the group of residents to represent them, said the approval of the subdivision for residential purposes was "compelling".

About 17 properties have been built on land neighbouring the empty section, some with a valuation of more than $350,000, and most say they would not have bought the property if they knew there was going to be anything but houses next to them.

Morclarke Developments director Lloyd Morshuis said he understood his brother Edwin was going to build units on the site before being approached by McDonald's to buy the site.

He said he "sympathised" with the residents and the issues they faced, but there was nothing he could have done to ease the situation.

Ms Bain recommended reduced opening hours of 7am to 10pm, Sunday to Thursday, and 7am to 11pm on Fridays and Saturdays.

Outside these hours, she recommended a barrier be placed across the car park so it could not be used as a congregating place and that all illuminated signs be turned off.