A furious neighbour has been forced to build a “fortress” around her home to stop building work by McDonald’s.
Rachel Laidler, 55, recently launched a protest against the fast food giant by unfurling a cheeky banner ten minutes before it opened a new restaurant next door
Rachel and her husband Peter, 70, who claims McDonald’s has wrecked her perimeter wall, put up the banner saying ‘We’re not Lovin it – see the unrepaired damage they left behind their fence.’
The couple believe a 15ft trench for a water treatment tank less than two metres from their boundary caused their concrete retaining wall to slip and crack.
They have been forced to prop up the precarious wall with rubble and pallets, including the wooden posts used to hoist the banner, fearing it will topple over and damage their detached home.
Rachel Laidler, 55, unfurled this cheeky ‘we’re not loving it’ banner ten minutes before the grand opening of the new fast food outlet
Rachel (pictured) and husband Peter, 70, believe a 15ft trench for a water treatment tank less than two metres from their boundary caused their concrete retaining wall to slip and crack
Pictured is an aerial view of the McDonalds that has been built next to their home in Ilkley, West Yorkshire
Ms Laidler said: ‘The sign has been great – it’s made people smile but also let them know that we’re not happy with what’s gone on.
‘McDonald’s weren’t listening to us, the council hasn’t listened and all we want if for them to come around and talk to us.
‘They’d stopped answering our emails but since the banner went up, we did get a reply, so it has worked to an extent.
‘The plan was to leave up the banner for a week and take it down, because we actually need the wood to stop the concrete posts from falling over.
‘We’re having to build our own fortress to protect our house until this is all resolved.’
Ms Laidler, who is the boss of a soft furnishings company, claims the digging of the hole has caused movement in the earth, causing the fence to keel.
She claims there was no plan signed off for a water treatment tank to be installed so close to her property, which the couple built seven years ago.
McDonald’s insists it is ‘satisfied the correct procedures were followed’.
Ms Laidler, who is the boss of a soft furnishings company, claims the digging of the hole has caused movement in the earth, causing the fence to keel
Ms Laidler claims that McDonalds are refusing to listen to her major concerns
The Laidlers say the chain did not have planning permission to install it so close to their home
Ms Laidler said: ‘I don’t think some of the people at the top of the project understand what it looks on our side.
‘We could just leave it and replace the wall of the house when it all collapses but we’d prefer it to be sorted out before that happens.
‘We’d rather spend our lives under the radar but at the same time, I don’t like injustice. ‘I don’t like David and Goliath-type situations.
‘They need to come around and see the state it’s in, so they can understand.
‘I don’t know whether they can’t quite face us, but we’re just human beings saying ‘we’re really unhappy, please put it right’.
The water treatment tank was installed as work took place to convert a former curry house into the new McDonald’s in the affluent market town.
The Laidlers say the chain did not have planning permission to install it so close to their home and said contractors refused to engage with them.
Ms Laidler said: ‘We used got used to to them digging holes.
‘Then they said we’re going dig a hole but it’s close to your fence, you might not want to come around to that side of our house.
‘I thought they were protecting us. They put a board up so we couldn’t get around there. Then they started digging and he concrete posts started learning.
‘Every time I asked a question, the builders would just look at the ground and shuffle their feet.
Planning permission for McDonald’s to make alterations to the building and car park and install the underground waste water treatment tank was granted last year, despite attracting 595 objections
‘Since the banner went up, we’ve had civil engineers and structural engineers contacting us, saying ‘can you send me photos?’. ‘How has this ever got passed?’
‘These are people we’ve never heard of before who can’t believe what’s happened.
‘If people we don’t know are contacting us in disbelief, we know we’ve got a case.’
Telling of her own efforts to install a septic tank at the couple’s own property, Mrs Laidler said she and her husband were made to ‘jump through hoops’.
She said: ‘We had to put our tank at least 7m from the boundary wall. So we complied.
‘This tank is 4.5m down a hole and less than 2m from our foundations.
‘To us, it looks like they’ve got the distance right from their restaurant but not bothered to think about our side.
‘You hear how councils enforce action against homeowners who build a wall slightly too high or put up a little porch. They get told to take them down because they’re in breach of planning laws.
‘What’s the point of building law if big companies can ride roughshod? We’re the residents. We’re the ones who pay council tax.
‘Why should McDonald’s be able to get away with it?’
Planning permission for McDonald’s to make alterations to the building and car park and install the underground waste water treatment tank was granted last year, despite attracting 595 objections.
Bradford Council said a retrospective application would have to be submitted as the location of the water treatment tank differed to the initial plans.
Ms Laidler added: ‘We love our house and we don’t mind their being a McDonald’s next door.
‘They’ve done a lovely job on the building and it’s nice to hear the sound of excited children.
Ms Laidler (pictured next to her damaged fence defiantly said ‘we are not being Nimbys about this’
‘We don’t hear any car doors or anything and it has been busy because it’s newly open.
‘We’re not being Nimbys about this. We are just struggling to understand how such a big company could act in this way.’
McDonald’s said in a statement: ‘As part of building our new McDonald’s restaurant in Ilkley, we installed a water treatment tank, following a review of the local drainage infrastructure.
‘Once on site, it became clear that the water treatment tank could not be placed in the exact spot originally planned, however, the main outlet pipe where the treated water leaves the site remains in the same location.
‘Relevant experts have assured us that the relocated tank does not impact neighbours or the surrounding area in any way, and we are working with the planning authority to make sure they are satisfied the correct procedures have been followed, and will follow any further steps they ask us to take.’
A spokesman for Bradford council added: ‘The council is in discussions with the owners’ representatives.
‘We have been advised that a retrospective planning application is being prepared and once received the council will fully consider it, which will include the usual publicity to give residents a chance to.’
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