By Jed Lanyon
Healesville and the wider Yarra Ranges community have declared they do not want to see a McDonald’s franchise come to Healesville according to Star Mail’s recent poll.
75.5 per cent of Star Mail readers came back with a ‘No’ vote to Macca’s as over 1000 residents expressed their disapproval in the development.
While 24.5 per cent of over 1500 locals polled said they were happy for the fast-food giant to bring their Big Macs to the Yarra Valley.
Last month, Star Mail broke the news that McDonald’s had submitted an application to amend an approved planning permit to Yarra Ranges Council, confirming the burger brand is keen on becoming a tenant at the development on 17 Maroondah Highway, Healesville.
But there’s bad news for locals who oppose seeing a Macca’s in town as the application is merely to amend the approved permit to change building specifications, not to decide whether McDonald’s would be approved or denied use of the site.
Yarra Ranges Council’s director of planning, design and development, Kath McClusky told Star Mail: “Council recently received an application, proposing to amend the approved Convenience Restaurant building details on a previously-approved Planning Permit (YR-2014/1199) at 17 Maroondah Highway in Healesville.
“The application does not propose any other changes to the previously-approved uses of the site.”
The application to feature a ‘convenience restaurant’ had already been approved by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) in July 2016, but the tenant of the potential convenience restaurant was not yet known, until now.
