A petition against the Golden Arches coming to Wānaka has gained more than 4700 signatures. Video / The South Today
Four new McDonald’s are planned or rising in fast-growing areas throughout New Zealand although some locals have started petitions to try to halt expansion.
From Auckland’s western outskirts to a Central Otago lakeside town, from the largest southern city to a blue-ribbon Auckland suburb, outlets are planned, andin some cases due to open in the next few weeks.
Three new Auckland McDonald’s opened in the last year alone.
The chain says it has around 1 million customers a week, 171 outlets and now employs more than 10,000 people but soon it will have 175 outlets as demand for its food keeps rising.
McDonald’s executives know people are keen to know where new outlets are planned.
But the four new projects are more of a gradual expansion to move into areas where the business does not already have outlets rather than a fast food takeover across the nation.
The new outlets are to have drive-throughs, restaurants with seats for around 20 people and parking outside.
But in at least two cases, locals have objected to McDonald’s plans, signing petitions and saying they don’t want that style of food in their area.
1. Kumeu/Huapai
This outlet is nearly finished on the corner of State Highway 16 and Oraha Rd.
It is due to open either next month or in August, following a recruitment drive.
Locals have gone to Westgate for McDonald’s before now.
The township already has a well-patronised Burger King, one local said, so the McDonald’s opening had been of great interest to some.
2. Ōrākei, Auckland
The St James church and hall were once at 152 Kepa Rd. Now, McDonald's has made a second application to build an outlet on this site in Auckland.
This is a controversial proposal with locals opposing the outlet planned at 152 Kepa Rd in the wealthy eastern suburb. A church was on the site but that has been demolished and the chain initially made an application but then withdrew it.
Now, the business has made a new application, saying its design has been changed to meet concerns and would bring social benefits, because it would “provide for food outside normal business hours for those on shift work”.
“Stop McDonald’s Ōrākei!” says a petition page, calling the food unhealthy.
“Local iwi have made such positive steps forward with the Pourewa Māra Kai Vegetable Gardens across the road,” says petition organiser Matt Murphy who has 278 signatures from a goal of 500.
“Having a McDonald’s directly opposite this proposed site is the antithesis of healthy kai. St Joseph’s Primary School is also opposite the site and having our young kids facing McDonald’s straight after school surely gives them the wrong message,” he added.
No opening date has been given.
3. Mt Iron, Wānaka
Plans for the new McDonald's at Mt Iron, Wānaka.
This is one of the most controversial stores with no construction yet and no opening date announced.
The 445sq m restaurant with a drive-through is to seat 75 people and have parking for 24 cars.
If successful, the international hamburger giant will soon welcome visitors arriving in Wānaka through the Mt Iron Junction subdivision off the SH6/SH84 roundabout currently under construction.
Locals launched a petition which quickly gathered hundreds of signatures after people said they did not want such an outlet at their town’s gateway.
“As a community that prizes itself on health, wellness, and its beautiful natural environment, McDonald’s goes against all of our core community values,” wrote petition author Sarah Morrison.
“This international fast food giant, responsible for mass distribution of unhealthy food to an increasingly obese population and extensive food waste and pollution, does not belong in our beautiful home.”
Development of land near Mt Iron and a roundabout at the entrance to Wānaka - where McDonald's plans its new outlet there.
The Overseas Investment Office (OIO) decision of April 23 allowed for 100 per cent United States-owned McDonald’s Restaurants (New Zealand) to buy 0.3ha of land at an undisclosed Wānaka location from Mt Iron Junction. The amount of money being paid was also suppressed.
“The applicant is ultimately owned by McDonald’s Corporation, a publicly listed company on the New York Stock Exchange. The applicant owns 171 McDonald’s restaurants across New Zealand.
“The applicant intends to build a new McDonald’s restaurant on the land. The restaurant is expected to be operational by 2026. The land is currently vacant, bare land and is being subdivided by the vendor. Consent has been granted because the application met the investor test and the non-residential use test,” the OIO said.
4. Green Island, Dunedin
The outlet is due to open in either December this year or January next year.
This is on the Main South Rd on a site previously occupied by the Commercial Tavern which closed in 2021, according to the Otago Daily Times. That tavern had been operating there for 150 years.
Dunedin already has McDonald’s in the central city on George St, north Dunedin on Great King St and New Zealand’s busiest McDonald’s at Andersons Bay.
The new Green Island site extends the outlet’s reach towards the city’s southern portion. This application appears to be less contentious than the Ōrākei or Wānaka ones.
Three more Auckland outlets
Elsewhere, McDonald’s outlets opened in three busy Auckland suburbs: Silverdale, Birkenhead and Pukekohe.
The Birkenhead and Pukekohe outlets opened late last year and the new Silverdale store was opened last June.
At Birkenhead, the drive-through opened in front of the Highbury Birkenhead shopping centre which has undergone a $15m expansion.
Outside, at the flat corner site once occupied by KFC, two national big-name takeaways were built, both to have drive-through areas and some car parking spaces: a new concept McDonald’s and a new concept KFC.
Architectural work on the scheme was done by retail specialists The Buchan Group with Cottee Parker Architects.
What McDonald’s says
A spokesman said today the business was working through the council process as it aimed to open a restaurant in Wānaka.
This included giving the council additional information as requested, McDonald’s said.
“At the same time we’re working through a separate process relating to the purchase of the land where we hope to build the restaurant. One condition of that purchase is approval from the Overseas Investment Office.
“We will be opening a new restaurant in Huapai in a few months, and construction has started on a restaurant in Green Island. Aside from Wānaka, we also have the proposed site in Ōrākei, where we continue to work through the consent process. This reflects a normal pipeline for McDonald’s in New Zealand, along with reinvestment in existing restaurants,” he said.
Anne Gibson has been the Herald’s property editor for 24 years, written books and covered property extensively here and overseas.
