Thetownend.com

http://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news/10770974.Plans_are_put_forward_for_a_new_McDonald___s/

Isn't six enough?

Meh, it doesn't bother me. Takes up redundant space and provides jobs. I'd like to think the franchisee has looked at whether the demand is there.

And they wonder why there are so many 'fatties' in the town....

Yes it brings jobs, but also brings rubbish. The amount of rubbish in North Swindon from Mac D's is awful.

Supply and demand really. The Town Centre doesn't need 3 Subways but they're always pretty rammed at peak times.

Better to give the yoofs of the town a job there as well.

Build it and they will come.

What sort of town do people want?  Leaving everything to 'supply & demand' is lazy, and abdicates responsibility for taking decisions in the public interest.  I'm sure you could find demand for up to 100 brothels across the town as well, but most would not want one on their street corner.

Anyone wanting a artery-hardening McBurger in Swindon already has 6 establishments to choose from.  No more needed in my view.

We're just a town full of Costas, Greggs and McDonalds.

Sippo and Ardiles really do make me laugh sometimes.

It's a McDonalds. Not a PoW camp. What's the fucking problem?

Eating McDonalds on it's own doesn't make you fat, no exercise and eating fatty burgers makes you fat.

I remember a story from years ago that at that point we had more pizza takeaway places per head than anywhere else in the country.

You're such an angry young man, DMR.  You need a little laughter in your life, I suspect.  So happy to help.


What's the fucking problem?!  Don't be a tool.  You know the fucking problems.  Everyone does.  No one needs to reiterate them here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RnmxST6hl4

The county ground was a POW camp  :)

I'd prefer a decent Chinese which the town doesn't even have one of.

A company like McDonalds aren't going to open a new gaff without doing their homework, must be enough demand of people prepared to waddle there.

They're expanding rapidly at the moment.  Like I said, I don't doubt that the demand exists.  I'm just not sure that catering for it is necessarily the wisest move.

Interestingly, Reading also has 7 branches of McDonalds and Oxford has just 3.  Reading is obviously a little bigger than Swindon and Oxford a little smaller...but interesting that there are significantly fewer branches per head of population in Oxford.  It's probably harder to get planning permission there, sure enough...but maybe the council has taken the view that 3 is enough.  Fair play if they have.

7  :eek:

Can only think of 5
Cockleberry/Greenbridge/Town Centre/Orbital and Asda west Swinon

Is there one in Shrivenham or that a Burger King?

I'm sure the Oxford City council are probably quite proud of their historic city and probably do have the view that too many fast food chains would be a 'blot' on the landscape.

Swindon is a little different!

Is Oxford really smaller than Swindon out of interest?

You need to read the story more.

Quick look at a map shows that, I think.

And this link (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UK_Urban_Areas#List_of_most_populous_built-up_areas_in_England_and_Wales) gives the population of Swindon's built up area as 186,000 to Oxford's 171,000.

Oxford has far more independent restaurants and the like whereas a quick glance at Swindon and you'll see only chains.

Odd that

Opened the thread and first post I saw was by Ardiles - didnt even see the ones above it
 :doh:

EDIT
Having read the story - isnt Watchfield in Oxfordshire ?? So not Swindon at all ( apart from post code ffs )

 I thought reading the headline that the CG was going to be turned into a McDonalds.

 Let's face it, McDonalds attracts a certain type of person, of which there are plenty in Swindon....but nobody drags you in and force feeds you.

unless you are a child maybe?

Good point....I'm guessing though it would be the feckless parents who do this, rather than McD's employees.

:)

Still is

Could do with a Nandos....

Are they still planning on having one in Swindon?

Personally, I won't be happy until we get a Wagamama.

Will you ever be happy though, I mean truly happy?  ;D

I'm generally a happy person.

Regular access to chicken katsu curry would make me happier though.

Aren't they sticking one of these in the shed currently being thrown up at Regent's Circus?

 :D

Oh are they?

No doubt all of the players will reside there...

Hope you dont mind me having a say :D

Its a good point made,fact is that it seems that most people see jobs and the economy as the most important thing in the ordinary persons life.

WELL IT FUCKING ISN'T.

Putting a great supermarket on every corner,putting a takeaway and bookies in every spare space isn't the answer.
Come to that nor is putting a great train track across the country just to boost the economy....jobs and the economy isn't the answer to everything....how about enjoying life and what it has to offer,life dosn't have to revolve around work and jobs all the time
So no we dont need another Mcnasty,5 is enough....a few more chemists may help,or maybe a decent library in the places that need one,in my opinion two Mcdonalds was more than enough.

This, 100% this.

I imagine the millions/billions without a job and living in abject poverty in countries with failed economies are loving life.

Ignorance must truly be a blissful thing.

My grandad is extremely poor but the happiest person I know, his and my nan's pension combined is about £150 a month, a month... Yet he loves life and every day is a blessing for him.

Is that to say that he wouldn't be more happy with more money though?

I'm not picking a fight, just wondering..

He's lived through 2 wars (wounded in one), 7 of his siblings have died, had a near death experience and yet he's immensely happy. Money genuinely isn't important to some people.

Food places will thrive, well, because we need to eat. With life (apparently) being more hectic, people will have a takeaway to save time etc. That said, I enjoy cooking, I like to be creative (yes, really  :) ) but lately I just chuck something in the oven, or do a quick stir fry because I have so many other things to be getting on with. If people choose to eat burgers/curry/kebabs etc most nights, then let them do it. Is another McD's needed in Swindon, probably not, but I reckon they'll still turn a profit. I live in Calne, there are a few chippies, kebab and pizza places as well as a good Indian Restaurant and Chinese takeaways. They have all been here for some time so must be doing ok. If I want to have a different culinary experience then I have to head out of town; we could really do with a nice restaurant specialising in English and Med food, personally my favourites.

Saying that, he is a freak of nature. He works 6 days a week, aged 84.

Haha, the I think when you get to a certain age, money isn't an issue...

Then again, unemployment isn't 100% down to there being 'no jobs'...

SOME people don't want to work....

(I'm not saying ALL unemployed people DON'T want to work...by the way)

Good on him.

He has a pension, yet he's extremely poor?

I agree with this....does anywhere NEED 'another' McDonalds? Again, probably not...but, like you say, it'll ALWAYS make a profit and be packed at key times throughout the day. If it goes 24 hours (like most), people will go to there as it'll be their 'local'..

That's around £2.50 a day (£5 for the two of them) if we're taking a month to be on average 30 days. He runs a shoe shop but it's fair to say he gets hardly any trade, it's just something for him to do.

This isn't in the UK though CF, is it? If not, what is cost of living like?

When they've paid all their bills they're left with hardly anything, if my parents didn't help out financially I dread to think what the situation would be like.

Is he a cobbler?

Went for one on Friday. Not bad food of you don't mind the dormitory esque seating.

I love it when people make this argument against fast food 'restaurants'. It's the low life customers dropping the rubbish who are to blame (and dropping litter is utterly low life behaviour in my opinion, I hate it). You can't blame McDonalds for it.

On that basis you can't blame a pub if it's customers are loud, abusive and obnoxious at kicking out time. Plenty of pubs do get blamed for this though, and in extreme circumstances threatened with closure/reduced hours.

Basically I think they do need to take some responsibility for the behaviour of their customers although as you rightly say it's the low life customers who do it who should shoulder most of the blame.

Would the litter be there if the restaurant wasn't because if the answer is no then it's pretty obvious that the litter problem has arisen as a result of the restaurant, right? And if so then they should do something about that. How about paying for a street sweeper out of the vast corporate profits, it's not exactly asking too much especially when there's enough custom to open 7 fucking restaurants in one town. 

Burger King is nicer too.

Not blaming McDonalds. It's the customers. Like I don't blame McDonalds for making people fat.

It's down to the individual. I just don't think we 'need' another one.

The thing is, the Council don’t approve a chain restaurant whether it be MCD’s/BK/Nando's etc, instead they approve a use class.  In this case it will be A5 (takeaway), possibly A3 (restaurant).   So whilst the applicant may be proposing a what is viewed as a ‘bad food’ restaurant, the premises could also be used without formal permission as an artisan coffee house serving takeaway macaroons.  This is where supply and demand comes into the equation and why Oxford only has three MCDs and Swindon has seven.  As someone else pointed out, Swindon has a substantially higher proportion of MCD eaters, whereas Oxford has a substantially higher number of people willing to drink overpriced coffee and macaroons

Completely agree with the above.  Nothing worse than watching some 6ft 4inch pikey blatantly drop litter as if he’s proud it.......And you can’t do a thing unless you actively want a kicking.  But this is not the fault of MCDs.

Following my last post, people who eat in MCDs are more likely to drop litter when compared with people who prefer expensive coffee.  Hence Oxford is a cleaner place than Swindon.  I appreciate this is a complete generalisation, but there’s a good reason we stereotype.

Christ you are not a planner as well

Afraid so.  I used to work for an LPA in Surrey and it was amazing how many letters of objection would be submitted from the affluent white middle class majority.  All complaining about the proposed Indian restaurant (racism is alive and well in leafy surrey, that much I did learn).  But as mentioned earlier, planning permission has very little to do with type of food being cooked.  Funnily enough, the same surrey folk weren’t too bothered when a coffee house was proposed. 

Tell me about it, we do a lot of work for one of the big 4 supermarket chains and I would suggest that we would get much fewer objections if we worked for Waitrose!

Yeah, I read a BBC article earlier in the week about the presence of Waitrose having a direct link to increased house prices.  As you say, if Mr Tesco wants a new store in say Marlborough, there will be 100’s of objections, propose a Waitrose and the locals/blue politicians will be right behind it (I appreciate Marlborough has both).

Not disagreeing with your points but I'm sure a coffee house open say 9-6pm would have less of an impact on your life if you lived next door to it than a ruby house which kicks out at 11pm.

I don't follow.  So some people might welcome a branch of Waitrose, and be less keen on a branch of Tesco.  That's their right, isn't it?  What is the mechanism by which local people can express a preference for the type (and style) of amenities going up in their vicinity if it isn't the planning system?

What you seem to be suggesting is that planners are impotent when it comes to distinguishing between Waitrose and Tesco, or a fancy French restaurant and a McDonald's...focusing only on the type of premises and leaving the branding etc. to the free market and supply & demand.  That all seems a bit Thatcherite/laissez faire to me.  If locals don't want a McDonald's on their doorstep, they should not be criticised for expressing that preference.  It's their right.

 While on the subject of plans and planners...can some sagacious person explain to me how building a car park, is going to regenerate the Town Centre?

http://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news/10773283.Hi_tech_car_park_is_nearing_completion/

Planning can control the use class, it cannot control the occupier thats the way the planning system is (and has been for over 60 years) the rest is left to the free market. Don't believe all the hype that Pickles et al spout about localism, if the neighbourhoods plan is not in accordance with nationally adopted policy (the NPPF) it has little to no weight.

If you owned a building would you want your choice of specific operatir to be controlled by the public?

Another example is the conversion of pubs to form convenience stores (Sainsbury Locals etc), as the change of use between pub and store is a permitted development the Council cannot stop it happening, then the stores apply its for for the adverts etc only the public cannot object to the change of use.

I suppose that's the killer argument, isn't it.

I do agree that localism is nothing more than a politician's buzz word.  Means very little in reality.  The politicians like people to believe that local decisions are being taken locally but, in reality, corporate considerations are more important.

It's boosting the towns economy by creating more locations for dodgy drug deals. Duh.

Yep, my experience of 'localism' in planning is as you describe.  People believe local decisions are being made, when in reality they aren't. Where i'd disagree is your bit about corporate considerations.  While this no doubt plays a part, the main problem IMO is that turkeys rarely vote for christmas.  I suppose housing is the most obvious example.  Very few people at local level want new housing on their doorstep and politicians are under pressure to resist it. Yet we need more housing and this issue is only examplified in more affluent areas.  The only way to solve the problem is for the Secretary of State or an independent Planning Inspector to decide where new housing is located because local people/cllrs refuse to do it themselves. Now that's localism at work 

Think the idea is to close some of the older car parks and build on them. But it sounds like they will only be building flats and offices.