A SECOND McDonald’s restaurant in Inverclyde should be taken off the menu because it does nothing to help the area’s health problems, according to a senior council figure.
Port Glasgow councillor Jim MacLeod says he is disappointed with plans for another Golden Arches drive-through on a section of the town’s Tesco car park, opposite the supermarket’s petrol station.
The development would create a minimum of 65 full and part time jobs.
But Mr MacLeod, the council SNP group’s health spokesman, believes the proposals by the fast food giant does nothing to help a variety of problems affecting Inverclyde.
McDonald’s already has a long-standing drive-through and restaurant in Greenock and the company wants to open up another in the Port, right next to the recently-opened Burger King and close to the expanding retail park.
Councillor MacLeod said: “I welcome the jobs — you can’t fault that fact.
“Any jobs being created anywhere in the district I welcome.
“But it’s a very difficult thing because I sit on all sorts of committees, particularly those that are health related, and the council, the health board and other community partnerships are trying to do a lot about tackling health issues, poverty and inequality.
“I’m the first to put my hands up and say I need to shed a few stones as well.
“But there’s an awful lot of fast food outlets already.”
Councillor MacLeod previously spoke out against a third Costa Coffee in the town after Next announced that the chain would run its in-store cafe when it opens later this month at the Port retail park alongside the existing standalone drive-through and one in Tesco.
The ward two representative believes over-provision of hot food outlets in and around the Port town centre, particularly on Princes Street, is also an issue.
He said: “In Port Glasgow town centre now we have a Burger King, we could have a McDonald’s, there’s two fish and chip shops, a Chinese and two Indian takeaways all in a relatively small area.
“We’re trying our best to tackle health issues — we keep reading about obesity levels and soaring numbers of cases of diabetes — and we’re telling people to watch what they are eating and here’s potentially another fast food restaurant.”
The proposed new McDonald’s is now being considered by Inverclyde Council’s planning department.
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