Francesca Rudkin: McDonald's read the room wrong trying to put a restaurant in Wānaka

There’s a Dominos and a Subway, but there will be no McDonald’s in Wānaka - at least at the currently proposed site. Yesterday, Commissioners declined to grant consent for a McDonalds restaurant, largely due to the location.  The proposed location was at the edge of town - where urban meets rural living. It is regarded as outside the urban growth boundary for Wānaka, at one of the town’s entrances, directly underneath magnificent Mt Iron.   A McDonalds was deemed to be at odds with rural living, the design of the building and surroundings not consistent with the landscape values of the site and its wider context. Commissioners considered reports and findings about the architecture, noise, traffic and future planning.   Queenstown Lakes District Council opened the proposal up for public submissions and of the 367 made, 340 opposed the development and 21 supported it.  While there were some who would have liked the opportunity for a Big Mac for dinner, many locals thought it would increase traffic, drink driving, litter, take business away from existing local businesses, stand out like a sore thumb, and have a visual and aesthetic impact on the town.   Their issue was – was this really a fitting gateway for a town all about healthy living and the environment, yoga and wellbeing, ditching disposable coffee cups, and slashing waste?  Or has the horse already bolted when it comes to Wānaka’s image and culture? The town’s population has increased from 10,000 to 18,000 in a decade, it's surrounded in subdivision development, and then there’s the Three Parks development not too far down the road from the proposed McDonalds site - which is home to a Mitre 10 Mega, Warehouse, and numerous other outlets.   Last night Queenstown District Deputy Mayor Quentin Smith told Andrew Dickens on Newstalk ZB’s Drive the proposed setting and McDonald's wasn't a good fit.   So did McDonalds just get it wrong – did they not read the room? Being tucked away in the Three Parks Development or the centre of town might have made it easier to gain consent. But would even that be acceptable for locals?   I say good on the folks of Wānaka – who doesn’t love a David and Goliath battle?   There are apparently over 41 thousand McDonalds in the world. There is one about an hour away from Wānaka. Does another small town need a golden arch? I personally love rolling into New Zealand towns, exploring what’s on offer, finding the best homemade pie (should out to Miles Better Pies in Te Anau), and having a chat with locals. It’s good to get away from the familiar.   Tourists don’t visit a stunning place like Wānaka because it has a McDonalds, so it comes down to the community. If the community feel it doesn’t reflect their values for whatever reasons —protecting the vista, their brand, local businesses or just plain old snobbery— then I say go for it. Fight the fight. Just like magnificent Kaikoura did. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.