Residents in Glossop have been fighting plans to build a brand new McDonald's restaurant in their town.
The planning application to build a McDonald's on the site of a former pub on Glossop Brook Road has been met with strong opposition.
People are worried that the fast-food restaurant will bring more traffic and will look out of place in the conservation area.
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According to Derbyshire Live, plans show that the restaurant is set to bring 60 jobs to the town and that demolition of the old building would be required.
Currently the public planning application is inundated with comments, most of which expressing the same statement of support for the planned building which have been submitted through a link on the McDonald's website.
However, there is significant opposition from local residents about the the proposed fast-food restaurant.
A Facebook group called Oppose McDonald's was started in early December in a bid to raise awareness about the planned McDonald's, as well as encouraging locals to sign a petition which has around 800 signatures.
Derbyshire Live spoke to Jane Fantom the organiser of the petition about the reasons so many feel so strongly against the fast-food franchise coming to Glossop.
Jane said: "The McDonald's submission states residential amenity is not considered a concern in this application.
"Residents disagree and say the development will impact significantly on their quality of life. The McDonald's will be open late at night for long hours creating noise, anti-social behaviour, littering and increased traffic gridlock.
"The development will be brightly lit and clearly visible 24 hours per day from the Wren Nest mill as it will be in an elevated position."
Alongside concerns about residential amenity, the campaign group believe the traffic assessment submitted "grossly" underestimates the peak traffic at the site, and neglects to consider already congested roads around the area.
A response from the Highway Authority on the planning document has also condemned the proposal.
A statement said: "The Highway Authority could not support this application if it were to come in as a full application.
"The access to the site is unacceptable from an operational point of view.
"Without seeing any traffic forecasts or assessments, it is difficult to predict the effect of queuing onto the mainstream section of Glossop Brook Road but if other McDonald's drive-through sites are anything to go by, potential queuing on the side road will also result in unnecessary queuing on the mainstream section of Glossop Brook Road."
Another local resident and member of the Oppose group Sharon Conreen spoke about her difficulties accessing the site on her mobility scooter.
She believes the submitted plan and site location ignores the needs of people with mobility problems and wheelchair users in terms of their independence and access to the site.
The campaign group have also met with Councillor Damien Greenhalgh about the development being at odds with the High Peak local plan.
The local plan states that all new developments are required to protect and enhance the character, appearance and setting of towns.
Jane said: "A McDonald's with large, illuminated signage and two huge totem poles will not be in keeping with the local heritage or the Wren Nest mill in the conservation area or the town."
A spokesperson for McDonald's said: "At McDonald’s we strive to be a good neighbour in the communities we serve.
"We firmly believe we can have a positive impact in this area including the creation of at least 65 full and part time jobs for local people.
"We pride ourselves on the positive contributions we make in communities across the UK and we proudly operate our business in a responsible way, beneficial to those in the immediate and surrounding areas.
"A Transport Assessment has been submitted as part of our planning application which concludes that our proposed development would have no material impact on the operation of the local road network.
"Our application will be appraised as part of the process by the relevant highways authority to ensure safety.
"We are committed to keeping the areas around our restaurants clean and tidy. All our restaurants are equipped with indoor and outdoor recycling facilities.
"The comments referenced make up a small proportion of the hundreds of supportive comments publicly visible within the planning file of the High Peak Borough Council website."
The public consultation on the proposal ends at the end of this month, with a decision date set for March.
