Application for late licence McDonald’s Helston refused

A Cornwall Council licensing sub-committee meeting got a little heated today (Wednesday, April 1) when the fast food giant’s barrister said he had been “unfairly ambushed” over a question about boy racers.

At least one councillor openly laughed and smirked at his reaction and a Cornwall Council solicitor reproached him, saying that he hadn’t been “ambushed” at all.

McDonald’s had applied for a late night licence to serve hot food and drinks from 11pm until 5am at its new 24/7 store, which is currently being built at Helston Business Park.

The licensing sub-committee had to meet to consider the proposal because the council had received ten representations from residents opposing the late licence, fearing noise, antisocial behaviour and boy racers. One person had written in support.

The company was represented by licensing barrister Leo Charalambides, who said that the 24/7 operation at Helston has been found to be “not just satisfactory but approved” at the planning stage. He stressed that responsible authorities, such as the police, child protection and public health, did not have any concerns.

He told the committee there will be external and internal CCTV, a system connected to a panic button which allows a situation to be watched remotely, where customers can be spoken to directly.

Staff could even play classical music to calm people down and turn off wi-fi in the restaurant, added the barrister.

“No alcohol is permitted on the premises and in terms of litter, each store has a daily litter pick from sunrise to sunset in the area around the restaurant. McDonald’s also sponsors bins and local litter picks.

“In terms of the representations, it’s my submission that the operating schedule answers those concerns and ought to satisfy yourselves,” said Mr Charalambides.

Committee chair Cllr David Saunby asked: “Why are you stepping out of line with the majority of McDonald’s in Cornwall – we’ve got 11 in Cornwall and the vast majority, except for one at Fraddon, are all closing at 11pm and Redruth is 1am.

“Why do you feel you want to open this one in Helston, which is close to houses even though you’re on an industrial estate, [after midnight]?”

Mr Charalambides replied: “Each case is on its own merits. The hours and viability of this site were carefully considered in the planning application and 24 hours was deemed suitable. We are on the edge of housing, we’re in a business park, we’re on the edge of a roundabout.

“The reality is that certainly since Covid being able to supply customers 24/7 is a very significant consideration and is what people are looking for. This store is considered suitable for that.”

Committee member Cllr Julie Cunningham said: “There is a risk of higher antisocial behaviour around fast food hotspots, especially late night restaurants and especially after pub and club hours.

“Why do you think this sort of behaviour won’t happen at McDonald’s?”

Mr Charalambides responded: “We disagree with that because it just doesn’t happen. It’s just not our experience.

“Firstly, we’re not a hotspot. We don’t consider ourselves fast food – we’re a quick service restaurant. I appreciate that’s slightly semantic.

“If you’re committed to antisocial behaviour late at night and you come to one of our stores, first and foremost they’re really well lit. Secondly, they’re covered by CCTV. Inside our store, all our staff are trained to deal with conflict management and antisocial behaviour.”

He added that the increased use of touch screen ordering means the chances of conflict are lessened. He said in the past 15 years, no McDonald’s stores have been “reviewed” and are seen as a “reliable partner” in areas where there may be difficulties or challenges.

Cllr Saunby added: “I know for a fact that in Falmouth McDonald’s attracts the boy racers in their cars. You can’t deny this. They race around the town and come back to McDonald’s as their base and they go off again, annoying the public.

“I feel that by opening this up till 5am will only attract more noise in Helston. They’ll be racing around the estates with their noisy exhausts, so it will be an attraction for the boy racers. What are you going to do to address that?”

Mr Charalambides said any evidence of such incidents should have been presented before the meeting so he had time to comment on it. “You’ve quite unfairly ambushed me.”

At least one member of the committee openly laughed at his response.

The McDonald’s barrister said: “You may wish to smile, but it’s a legal principle that if you are going to give evidence, you need to warn the other side of what your evidence is so that we can answer it.”

Cornwall Council’s own solicitor Mark Andrews interjected, saying: “Well then, simply don’t address it Mr Charalambides. If you don’t feel it’s an appropriate question, don’t answer it.”

The barrister for McDonald’s mentioned being ambushed again. “I don’t think you’ve been ambushed Mr Charalambides. It’s a simple question. I don’t think suggesting that the councillor has ambushed you is helping anyone really,” added Mr Andrews.

“For some reason McDonald’s seems to attract the concern of boy racers and I’ve never seen any evidence of boy racers,” said Mr Charalambides. “I certainly don’t accept that this McDonald’s or indeed any McDonald’s acts as a base for boy racers.

“It would have been raised by the police. If it transpires there is a problem, we will be very keen to work with the police in order to remedy that.”

He said CCTV, speed bumps and traffic cameras would all mitigate any such issues.

Claire Meredith, a resident of a housing estate near the new McDonald’s, told the meeting: “I moved to Helston specifically because I wanted a more rural, peaceful lifestyle.”

Becoming visibly upset, she added: “I have experienced some trauma in my life and the culture of Cornwall and its land is important to me and it’s been a place where I’ve been able to rest and recover.

“One of the things I appreciate about my house is that it’s in a quiet location.”

She said her home was about 450 metres from the new McDonald’s. “Helston is not a 24/7 town. Should the application be granted I anticipate that noise will increase.

“I also understand there is a connection between boy racers and McDonald’s. That is definitely not in keeping with this part of Helston.”

She said of the late licence application: “I think this would significantly change things as well as the litter, the smell and the noise of extra traffic.”

After deliberating in private, the sub-committee refused the application, believing it would lead to noise near a residential area “in particular from vehicles visiting the premises, litter issues, traffic issues and an increase in antisocial behaviour”.

Members felt that the concerns raised about noise “potentially all night long” would have a negative impact on residents.

The decision can be appealed by McDonald’s.

An application to allow Praa Sands Holiday Park to extend its premises licence to sell alcohol until 1am on Fridays and Saturdays was allowed despite objections by a couple of neighbours.