No to McDonalds in the Dandenong Ranges

Whats wrong with McDonalds? I want a McDonalds in Tecoma if you don't like McDonalds you don't have to go there at the moment you have to go to Ferntree Gully to get McDonalds.My children would like to work there it would create employment for the youth in the area and thats a good thing.McDonalds do a lot of good community work through sponsorship and Ronald McDonald House or have you forgotten this which is a lot more than the rest of the shops in Tecoma.I think McDonalds should be there before the sweet and confectionery shop or the grog shop on the corner.You say it would wreck the local character McDonalds would look better than some of the ugly shops that are there now.Could please tell me what shop are not profit driven you cant be talking about the three real estates offices that the land rats run.Tecoma has bugger all shops that I are useful and I live walking distance from the shops but I have to get in the car and drive to belgrave to do my shopping which increases my carbon foot print.I dont want people like you speaking for me and I bet you not from Tecoma and a blow in from some other place.

Quote from "Richard": "Whats wrong with McDonalds?"

Is that a rhetorical question? If you are such a fan of McDonalds and find it frustrating driving 5 minutes down the road to buy your junk food then perhaps you should consider moving down the mountain so you can enjoy your dinner from a closer proximity? Just a thought? I also live in Tecoma Richard and I can say without a shadow of a doubt that "I don't want people like you speaking for me" either, I think I CAN speak for a lot of other locals on that matter. McDonalds will quickly find that an overwhelming majority of hills residents will be in strong opposition to this ridiculous and offensive proposal. There are no large fast food outlets anywhere in the hills. They tried it in Belgrave and failed, they're wasting their time trying it again in Tecoma. They're fighting a losing battle against a tight knit community who don't want them here and will fight to the death to keep them out.

The VAST majority of people in Tecoma are completely opposed to this development which will destroy two heritage buildings, increase traffic congestion and destroy the feel of this small independent community.

The heritage buildings that will be demolished to make way for this monstrosity are not real estate agents but an Indian restaurant and a cafe/record shop.

When a GP wanted to establish a Practice in Tecoma, they were told that they could not get approval because there would not be enough parking. How much more traffic will a McDonald's bring. The Sandells Rd/Burwood Highway junction is already a black spot and heavier traffic there could cause disaster if people need to evacuate the hills again (i.e. next time there is a bushfire).

Communities have successfully fought McDonald's in the past and I am confident that we will do the same in Tecoma.

Yeah peace maan, of course anyone against this proposal must be a stereotypical dope-smoking hippy - after all, it's not like any reasonable people could have concerns about inappropriate development in our town, is it?

If so many locals want McDonalds here, why don't you organise a community meeting in favour of the proposal, or is calling people names on the internet more your thing?

I grew up in the hills and vividly remember the protests when McDonalds tried to open a store in Belgrave way back in 1993. Its really sad to see that almost nothing has changed.

A Mcdonalds in Tecoma would really open up opportunities for the community - despite what the hate preachers would have you believe. 100+ new jobs plus over a million a year in new spending in the local area is definately needed.
When I was 16 I fruitlessly searched for local employment, but ended up working in the FTG area, as did all my friends when we couldnt find local work. Im sure many local teens are in this same position. And whether you like it or not, McDonalds pays way more than what your local fish and chip/pizza shop/bakery pays to its teenagers. ($11 per hour for a 15y/o is pretty good actually - do some research)

Did people complain when subway opened in belgrave? What is the difference? did other shops go out of business? I dont think so. Any takeaway shop/cafe owner who is a good operator will stay in business. Just because there is a McDonalds there, doesn't mean families are automatically going to opt to feed the family there (as opposed to their usual takeaway). If you reguarly go to the green bean/reel cafe/puffing billy cafe for a coffee, im pretty sure your still going to go there. The existence of a McDonalds doesnt change much. Its just another option.

Overall I think it is just time to accept that growth, competition and opportunities are natural occurrences in the towns we live in. You cant go on forever insulating and "protecting" places from it. In the end, you just end up hurting everyone.

What if you usually go to Saffron cottage? I don't know where you got those statistics and they sound a bit dodgy to me. Are you counting the jobs that will be lost there & in neighbouring businesses?

Subway just opened in a row of shops, it didn't bulldoze them to create a drive through restaurant. Anyway,Subway seems to be empty every time I go past. Local eateries like the ones you mentioned seem to be doing much better business.

And is it really that much of a hardship to commute to FTG? There are regular buses/trains. Commuting to work is a part of everyday life for most people in the area - you don't have the
god-given right to be able to walk to work.

Hi Helen, I'm glad so many people are engaging in this discussion :)
The proposal is for the Saffron cottage and Hippie Haven buildings to be demolished to make way for the McDonald's. Check out the following links for more information:

http://free-press-leader.whereilive.com.au/news/story/hungry-for-the-hills/
http://www.tvag.org.au/McDonalds.html

Pretty hard to compete when your business location has been demolished, wouldn't you say? Of course they could move elsewhere, but to say that the business would not be affected is ludicrous.

For those who have said that the anti McDonald's Tecoma residents are not representative of the wider community, our local State MP (former police minister James Merlino, who was elected to represent people in this area) has said the following:

“We just don’t need it in the hills,” Mr Merlino said. “I am certain the majority of residents in the Dandenongs do not want to see a McDonald’s open up, or any fast food franchise in the Dandenongs.”

Our local councillor (Samantha Dunn of the Australian Greens) cannot comment on a proposal before it is put to council. Historically,the Greens tend to oppose inappropriate development in small communities.

As far as I know, the Federal MP (Laura Smyth)has not commented on this issue (unsurprising as it is not a Federal issue).

The only community group concerned with development in the area (TVAG; the organiser of the community meeting) is firmly opposed.

If there is some huge groundswell of support for this proposal among "ordinary" Tecoma residents, there is precious little evidence of it, apart from a few comments on the internet and a Facebook group which is significantly smaller than the two anti McDonald's groups.

Hi Sue,

There isn't.

Mate I fink McDonald wood be a Good place to pick up tha chicky babes.I could hang out there in me Statesman and hang some good burn outs man the chicky babes will luv it and me.
I could open the doors and boot on tha Statesy and turn up tha music on me rock box and get the sub pumpin man.I would hang out there every night awsum fun man and you are trying to stop me fun why man wot hav i dun to you
Me mates Spiro and Tony say yous all ways do that then I remember in 1978 yous tried to stop Maccas in Preston too so we had to hang out at the Red Barn to pik up the chicky babes

:)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sockpuppet_(Internet)

People should take everything on this page with a grain of salt, as it is likely there is a single mcdonalds stooge doing ALL the commenting for the pro mcdonalds side, simply making up a new name for every unverified poster.

They should note they are doing few favours for maccas case & are simply coming across as the trolls they are.

The ratio of For / Against a McDonalds in the hills is staggeringly one sided, & no hints are needed as to which side is in the majority.

I suspected I was talking to the same person for a while because the abusive tone of the posts remained exactly the same even though the names changed. "Shannon" has copy pasted the same comment on FB under his full name, but all of the other posters are probably the same person.

I especially liked how "Helen" and "Sue" appeared just after I pointed out that most of the pro McDonald's comments I'd seen seemed to be from young males.

Whoever it is has pretty limited knowledge of the area & proposed development. They didn't know which existing businesses would be affected or where the Subway store is (pretty unlikely for a local resident).

I was even asked how I knew Saffron Cottage would be affected (err, by being demolished?!?)

It all stopped the moment I put a link up to the Wikipedia definition of "Sock Puppet".