After being rejected in Wānaka and opposed at Ōrākei, McDonald’s has quietly won consent for a new 24/7 Auckland drive-through on nearly 1ha in a wealthy area.
The Auckland Council granted non-notified approval for the food business to develop a new free-standing outlet on Newmarket’s Broadway beneath the Southern Motorway flyover at the Mahuru St corner.
Gaining consent non-notified means that, unlike the Wānaka and Ōrākei schemes, no one was invited to submit on the Newmarket application.
That was because it met the terms and conditions that allowed it to be unannounced.
Consent was approved on June 19 and the business expects to open next year.
McDonald’s head of impact and communications, Simon Kenny, told the Herald the project meant the company would be returning to Newmarket, which it had not traded in for some years.
“McDonald’s has been looking for a suitable site for a new restaurant in Newmarket for a number of years.
“Previously, we’ve operated in food courts and retail settings, which don’t allow a full customer offering.
“We have identified a site for a freestanding restaurant, including a drive-through, and are working through the process to finalise plans. We’re hopeful that we could open a new restaurant in Newmarket in the next 12 months,” he said.
One Remuera man said Greenlane was the closest McDonald’s and he welcomed a new restaurant at Newmarket, predicting a drive-through would be popular.
B&A’s assessment of environmental effects said a 370sq m building with main restaurant, cafe seating area, rubbish and loading area, kitchen with freezer and cooler, crew room, office and toilets is planned.
The land is owned by the Dilworth Trust Board and leased to McDonald’s.
The council consent document said the proposal was sent to the Waitemata Local Board which wanted to be kept updated. One of its members, Alexandra Bonham, had no comments to make about the proposal.
But neighbours at 10-14 Mahuru St raised concerns about flooding, the document said.
The American-headquartered chain first opened here in Porirua in 1976 and its popularity seems to be on the rise.
Today there are about 170 outlets.
Last year, the Herald published Power list: The top McDonald’s owners in New Zealand, what it takes to buy in.
Mark Knoff-Thomas, Newmarket Business Association CEO, said he was delighted that McDonald’s was returning because it once had two outlets on Broadway and another in the old 277 mall.
“In fact, my office is inside the old McDonald’s on Broadway.”
Deputy Mayor Desley Simpson also welcomed the outlet: “This is exactly the sort of business the zoning allows for. The big issue for me was traffic, but access is from Mahuru St which alleviates that.”
B&A Urban & Environment’s assessment said Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency gave written approval for the project, beneath the Newmarket flyover.
The site has a building on its southern end with commercial tenancies. Car parking for a car dealership and commercial car parking uses the rest of the site.
A 12m sign will feature the “standard golden arches wording”, B&A said.
“The proposal is for a commercial activity on a site within a Business Metropolitan Centre zone. It is considered that there is nothing noteworthy about the proposal.
“It is therefore considered that the application cannot be described as being out of the ordinary or giving rise to special circumstances,” B&A’s assessment said.
In Ōrākei, concerns about potential health implications for children, litter and traffic disturbance were raised by objectors.
In Wānaka, opponents said McDonald’s was responsible for extensive food waste and pollution and that it didn’t belong there.
In the 12 months to December 31 last year, McDonald’s NZ reported net $59.8 million profits after tax, down 43.2% annually.
Income tax expenses more than doubled to $87.4m due to $43m of deferred income tax.
McDonald’s staff have protested about their pay this month. On August 7, workers at McDonald’s in St Luke’s Mall walked off the job to protest low wages.
Twenty to 40 people protested the below-inflation pay offer McDonald’s offered the workers.
Unite Union co-president Xavier Walsh told the Herald the workers wanted to show McDonald’s “we mean business”.
McDonald’s Newmarket
Anne Gibson has been the Herald‘s property editor for 25 years, written books and covered property extensively here and overseas.