McDonald's chokes on Village plan | Hawkes Bay News | Local News in Hawkes Bay

McDonald's Restaurants New Zealand has just realised what the rest of Havelock North has been thinking, large-scale fast food restaurants are not welcome in the village.

The company said there was an "obvious prejudice against fast food operators" in Havelock North and that has set a "very narrow focus of employment" for the suburb.

The comments were made in a letter by the company's legal firm to the Hastings District Council's hearings committee meeting on Monday which began deliberating on the Havelock North Village Centre Plan Change.

The plan would offer more control over development in the village centre through four new precincts. It was initiated in 2007 following complaints that new developments appearing were "out of character" with Havelock North's town centre.

McDonald's was granted a resource consent to build a restaurant on Havelock Rd under the council's current rules. The proposed plan change however said the fast food restaurant would be in an "employment precinct", an area set aside for generating jobs and which did not allow the sale of food.

McDonald's could still build on the site and other food outlets already in the employment zone could continue to operate but if the plan change was passed, those businesses would need to apply for resource consent again if they wanted to expand in the future.

And expansion plans would be tested against the new plan change rules. The council said it would not "relax" the rules for McDonald's or other outlets to fit into the plan.

A peer review by Australian town planning specialist Urbacity said fast food restaurants could set up in the retail precinct in Havelock North's centre.

But McDonald's said Urbacity's view that retail shops should be built to the street edge was "incompatible" with fast food restaurants, especially those with drive-thrus like McDonald's, precluding all fast food outlets throughout the village.

The Urbacity report also said the type of businesses suited for Havelock North should be "higher in the economic wealth spectrum" than McDonald's.

McDonald's legal team hit back and said to establish a "truly sustainable employment precinct" the council should be encouraging a range and mix of employment activity.

Havelock North Business Association president Adrienne Pierce made it clear to the council's hearings committee that her 140 members did not want big box retailers or large fast food outlets in the village.

Mrs Pierce was among the submitters speaking to the committee on the proposed plan change on Monday.

"Most of the shops in the village are owner-operated where people are cared for by individual shop owners," she said.

Mrs Pierce also said people did not want to see the village turned into "a big car parking area" to service two supermarkets when the town could survive on one supermarket.