Andrew Watts, a representative of McDonald's, spoke in favour of the proposed fast-food establishment on the Ross-on-Wye bypass

Tindle News

Watch Andrew Watts, a representative of McDonald's, spoke in favour of the proposed fast-food establishment on the Ross-on-Wye bypass - Tindle News on Dailymotion

Transcript

00:00 My name is Andrew Watt and I'm a senior applicant

00:02 for the City of McDonalds.

00:03 Thank you for allowing me the opportunity

00:04 to address the state to support this application.

00:07 I want to use this opportunity to add some details

00:10 to the report before you and to tell you about McDonalds.

00:13 We have worked closely with officers

00:14 throughout the application process

00:16 and are pleased with the recommendation

00:17 to approve the proposal.

00:20 Following the withdrawal of our initial application,

00:23 we have listened to original concerns

00:25 and have made a number of amendments to the scheme.

00:28 Firstly, the plot of land which was earmarked

00:30 for future development will be incorporated

00:32 into a landscape and biodiversity and heartland area

00:35 that also provides a more sustainable drainage design.

00:38 Importantly, we have listened to neighbours

00:41 and have reduced our proposed opening and servicing hours.

00:44 We are also proposing a gate on the entrance road

00:46 to ensure the site is not misused after hours.

00:50 We are also incorporating a number of sustainable features

00:53 within the scheme, including solar panels

00:55 and electric vehicle charging points.

00:58 We are pleased to see that our proposal has support locally,

01:01 with 417 letters of support being submitted to the council.

01:06 It is welcome to see so many local people

01:08 actively voice their support for our scheme.

01:11 We've worked hard at offices

01:12 during the course of the application

01:14 to ensure the proposal before you is in an acceptable form.

01:18 Our transportation experts have also undertaken

01:21 extensive work to ensure that the layout design

01:23 is acceptable in terms of parking provision

01:26 and drive-through queuing.

01:28 The transport assessment has been provided

01:30 to demonstrate that the proposed traffic

01:32 can be accommodated on the road network

01:34 without taking significant impacts,

01:36 which includes proposed widening to the overall roundabouts.

01:40 I would want to take the opportunity to reiterate

01:42 our commitment to invest in the local area for the long term,

01:45 creating at least 120 jobs for local people.

01:49 As a company, McDonald's invests over £43 million a year

01:52 in staff training.

01:53 All of our employees have access to a range of qualifications

01:56 to help them develop,

01:58 including nationally recognised foundation degrees

02:00 and apprenticeships.

02:01 The majority of our managers started serving

02:04 in our restaurants, as did many of our most senior staff.

02:09 The restaurant will be locally franchised,

02:11 which will inherently provide additional benefits

02:13 to the local area.

02:14 McDonald's has a proud history in helping local communities

02:17 to tackle waste, and we've invested heavily in recent years

02:20 in introducing recycling bins across all of our restaurants,

02:24 displaying clear instructions as to how to responsibly

02:27 dispose of and recycle waste.

02:29 Recently, McDonald's launched a partnership with Litter Lotto

02:32 as part of a long-term commitment to combat litter

02:34 across the UK.

02:36 This will allow customers to win prizes

02:38 just for binning their litter through the Litter Lotto app.

02:41 If approved, McDonald's will undertake a minimum

02:44 of three litter picks per day to collect all litter

02:46 in the vicinity of the site.

02:48 To conclude, we are pleased with the officer's recommendation

02:51 and are excited to invest in Ross and White for the long term,

02:54 providing a significant economic investment

02:57 that will provide a range of benefits to the local community.

Category

Transcript

Recommended