The possible arrival of a McDonald’s with drive-through kept people busy in the vicinity of the Oisterwijk forests last week. But according to the fast food company itself, there are no such plans. While around 9,400 people have now signed a petition against the arrival of the restaurant. “There hasn’t been any conversation.”
The center of the commotion is an impoverished catering facility on Oisterwijkse Vennelaan. Real estate developer Klop Beheer bought the site, which used to include a miniature golf course (formerly Piet Plezier), last September for four million euros.
According to the developer, it would be a suitable location for one or even two fast food restaurants. And that statement caused unrest in Oisterwijk. Local residents were concerned about the consequences for nature, traffic and waste.
There was even started a petition against the alleged arrival of a McDonald’s branch, which has now been signed more than 9,400 times.
initiator Bas Zijlmans went to war with strong words. “The developer wants to place a McDonalds there. That would mean that the entire nature reserve will die from the junk!” So he wrote. “Just thinking of something like that is disrespectful to nature.”
No plans
But it turns out: there are no concrete plans for a McDonald’s at all. “Our name is used here and there has been a lot of commotion, but this location is absolutely not on our minds,” a McDonald’s spokesperson told Omroep Brabant.
The spokesperson saw how the news spread like wildfire in recent days. “But there are no plans to establish McDonald’s at that location. We do not know this real estate developer and have had no contact. This also damages our name.”
Addressed
A franchisee of the fast food chain in the region was also personally approached several times in recent days about the alleged plans, while according to McDonald’s there are none.
The spokesperson acknowledges that the arrival of a new fast food restaurant can often lead to commotion. “It arouses both enthusiasm and concerns from people. Specters of extra traffic and a lot of waste quickly come to mind.”
According to the company, these images are unjustified. “For example, we always employ someone who spends the whole day cleaning up. And the idea of thousands of extra cars in one day is something our franchisees could only want,” he explains.
In conversation with the environment
McDonald’s emphasizes that the company normally enters into discussions with the environment at an early stage. “If there were actually plans, we would have talked to local residents much earlier. I understand the concerns, everyone has their own opinion, but we always opt for openness and transparency.”
According to the spokesperson, it appears that the name McDonald’s is being mentioned to generate interest in the site. “But there hasn’t been any conversation. This is not a place where we would land.”