Lobby Local Politicians

Local councillors make the final decision, so it’s important that they know the strength of feeling against the development. It’s risky for local councils to stand up to McDonald’s and refuse planning permission because of the possibility of losing the appeal and having to pay McDonald’s costs. They won’t do it unless they think that large numbers of votes are at stake – so leave them in no doubt about this!

Showing Strength of Feeling

All objectors should write to their ward councillors to express their disquiet about the development. Try to spread this as wide as possible within your council area so that it doesn’t look like a small, single-ward problem (which is easier to ignore).

Find out the ward structure in your local area, your civic centre can tell you which councillors represent which wards and their party. Ensure that you have plenty of letters in the majority party wards. This doesn’t mean that you should ignore the opposition parties or any independent councillors – ideally you want everyone to support you. But you do need to secure the votes of the ruling majority. If you have a directly-elected mayor, find out how the casting votes work, so that you know who has to be influenced.

Mobilise people to write. Speak to neighbours, people you know – get them to encourage people they know to write, or ask for contacts of people they know (for you to encourage them to write).

Be prepared to offer a drafting / typing service for those who would like to write but don’t have access to a computer, or perhaps are uncertain about what to say or think that their voice doesn’t count (which it does). Don’t rely on people saying they will write – quite often they won’t even if the original intention was there – force the pace by providing drafts and getting people to sign and send them.

Letters to ward councillors are not public documents and are not considered by the planning authorities nor the DTLR’s inspector if the case goes to appeal. But they demonstrate the strength of public feeling to the people who will make the final decision.

Do not use standard letters to ward councillors. Letters can be a mix of planning issues (e.g. pedestrian safety and traffic) and also the other unpleasant aspects of McDonald’s – litter, noise, smells etc. It looks more normal if you have a mix.

Everyone who writes to the ward councillor should also write to their local MP. Whilst the local MP has no jurisdiction over planning issues, your MP will speak to other members of his / her party and may (if you are extremely lucky) even give the odd press statement in your favour.

Write to other influential stakeholders in your area; for example, everyone can write to the mayor (whether a ceremonial or directly-elected mayor), even if the mayor is not the local ward councillor.

The point of these letters is to raise the profile of the campaign and let local politicians (your elected representatives) know that you are against the development.

Influencing The Final Decision

First, you need to know who has the controlling votes in your local authority, because they will have the controlling / casting votes on the planning committee. It is imperative that you get the support of this group before the planning committee meeting.

Find out who is on the planning committee and who is the Chair. Nominated task force members should open a dialogue with these key councillors (from all parties) to sound them out and put the community’s case. McDonald’s have been known to speak to councillors behind the scenes – so why shouldn’t you? They are your elected representatives – not McDonald’s! In some areas communities have found it difficult to talk directly to planning committee members because of their particular council structure. Even if this is the case, do try to discuss the community’s concerns with as many influential councillors as you can. If your area has the new directly-elected mayoral system, you will need to find out who makes the decisions and the process.

The aim is to develop a good relationship and credibility with the councillors who will make the final decision. They should already know that votes might be at stake because of your letter-writing and press campaign. The purpose now is to convince them that there are planning grounds for refusing the application – in other words, convince them of your rational (planning) arguments.

Some communities have found it useful to document their planning case, backed up with their evidence, to submit to councillors and the planning department. Councillors are busy people and may not always remember everything you told them in a discussion, and might appreciate a written document to consider. If you decide to do this, ensure that they receive your document before they meet to discuss the planning committee agenda. One way might be to ask them when it would be helpful for them to receive it (this might be more tactful than asking them outright when they are planning to meet to discuss the agenda).

We recommend that you treat all political parties and independent councillors equally in terms of information and discussion because you want them all on your side. But it is critical to gain the support of the group with the controlling votes.