An angry neighbor has been forced to build a ‘fortress’ around her home to stop McDonald’s construction work.
Rachel Laidler, 55, recently launched a protest against the fast food giant by unfurling a cheeky banner ten minutes before a new restaurant opened next door
Rachel and her husband Peter, 70, who claims McDonald’s destroyed her perimeter wall, put up a banner reading ‘We don’t love it – see the irreparable damage they left behind their fence.”
The couple believes a 15-foot ditch in front of a water treatment tank less than eight feet from their boundary caused their concrete retaining wall to slip and crack.
They have been forced to prop up the shaky wall with rubble and pallets, including the wooden poles used to hoist the banner, for fear the banner will fall and damage their detached house.
Rachel Laidler, 55, unfurled this cheeky ‘we’re not loving it’ banner ten minutes before the grand opening of the new fast food store
Rachel (pictured) and husband Peter, 70, believe a 15-foot ditch in front of a water treatment tank less than two feet from their boundary caused their concrete retaining wall to slip and crack
Pictured is an aerial view of the McDonalds built next to their home in Ilkley, West Yorkshire
Mrs Laidler said: ‘The sign was great – it made people laugh but also let them know we are not happy with what has happened.
“McDonald’s didn’t listen to us, the council didn’t listen and all we want is for them to come and talk to us.
“They stopped answering our emails, but since the banner went up we’ve gotten a response, so to some extent it’s worked.
“The plan was to leave the banner up for a week and take it down, because we actually need the wood to keep the concrete posts from falling over.”
“We need to build our own fort to protect our home until this is all resolved.”
Mrs Laidler, the boss of a soft furnishings company, claims that digging the hole caused movement in the earth, causing the fence to fall.
She claims no plan was drawn for the installation of a water treatment tank so close to her property, which the couple built seven years ago.
McDonald’s emphasizes that it is “satisfied that the correct procedures have been followed.”
Mrs Laidler, the boss of a soft furnishings company, claims that digging the hole caused movement in the earth, causing the fence to fall.
Ms Laidler claims McDonalds refuses to listen to her biggest 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 like on our end.
“We could just leave it there and replace the wall of the house if it all falls down, but we’d rather it be fixed before that happens.”
‘We prefer to 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 by and see what condition it’s in so they can understand it.
“I don’t know if they can’t fully face us, but we’re just people saying, ‘we’re really unhappy, please make 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 work with them.
Mrs Laidler said: ‘We got used to them digging holes.
“Then they said we were going to dig a hole, but it’s close to your fence, you might not want to come around that side of our house.
‘I thought they were protecting us. They put up a sign so we couldn’t ignore it. Then they started digging and the concrete piles started to peel.
‘Every time I asked a question, the builders just looked at the ground and shuffled their feet.
Last year, planning permission was granted to McDonald’s to make changes to the building and car park and install the underground waste water treatment tank, despite receiving 595 objections.
“Since the banner went up, civil engineers and fabricators have been contacting us asking, ‘Can you send me pictures?’ “How did this ever work?”
“These are people we’ve never heard of and can’t believe what’s happened.
“When people we don’t know contact us in disbelief, we know we have a case.”
Mrs Laidler told of her own attempts to install a septic tank on the couple’s property, saying she and her husband had to ‘jump through hoops’.
She said: “We had to place our tank at least 7 meters from the border wall. So we have complied.
“This tank is 15 feet deep in a hole and less than 6 feet from our foundation.
‘To us it seems like they got the distance to their restaurant right, but didn’t bother to think about our side.
‘You hear how municipalities take action against homeowners who build a wall a little too high or put up a veranda. They are told to take them out because they are breaking planning laws.
‘What is the point of construction law if large companies can trample under their feet? We are the residents. We are the ones who pay the council tax.
“Why can McDonald’s get away with it?”
Last year, planning permission was granted to McDonald’s to make changes to the building and car park and install the underground waste water treatment tank, despite receiving 595 objections.
Bradford Council said a retrospective application would have to be made because the location of the water treatment tank differed from the original plans.
Mrs Laidler added: ‘We love our home and we don’t mind it being a McDonald’s next door.
‘They have done a beautiful job on the building and it is nice to hear the sound of excited children.
Mrs Laidler (pictured next to her damaged fence said defiantly ‘we’re not Nimby’s about this’
‘We don’t hear any car doors or anything and it’s busy because it just opened.
‘We’re not Nimby’s in this. We just find it difficult to understand how such a large company can act in this way.”
McDonald’s said in a statement: ‘As part of the construction of our new McDonald’s restaurant in Ilkley, we have 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 exactly in the originally planned location. However, the main discharge pipe where the treated water leaves the site remains in the same location.
‘Relevant experts have assured us that the relocated tank will not impact the neighbors or the surrounding area in any way, and we are working with the planning authority to ensure that they are satisfied that the correct procedures have been followed, and that we any further steps will follow ‘ask us to take.’
A spokesperson for Bradford Council added: ‘The council is in discussions with the owners’ representatives.
‘We have been informed that a retrospective planning application is being prepared and once received the council will give it full consideration, including the usual publicity to give residents an opportunity to do so.’