Fast food giant McDonald’s has lost a battle to stay open throughout the night at a Black Country branch.
The ruling followed claims that 24-hour opening would increase problems with boy racers congregating at the Kingswinford site.
The firm launched a two-day court battle to overturn Dudley Council’s refusal to approve extended opening hours for the drive-through section at the branch in Dudley Road.
Dudley magistrates threw out McDonald’s appeal and ordered it to pay £9,131 to cover the council’s court costs.
The court heard that boy racers congregated there for years, screeching brakes, sounding horns and playing music late into the night.
Staff at nearby Premier Inn, The Kingswinford, who had sleepless nights and gave customers refunds, insisted extended hours would make problems worse.
Afterwards hotel manager Mark McHugh said he was “absolutely thrilled.”
He said: Now this stage has finished I can start to look forward and try to do something to sort out the problem properly. I’m so pleased. If we’d lost this it would have been awful.”
Deborah Nut, who lives and works at the hotel, said: “They are screeching, revving, playing headbanging music and I never get a good night’s sleep, I’m constantly exhausted.
“If they ever come onto to our car park I will go out, have a few choice words, and get them to leave.”
McDonalds wanted to keep the drive-thru open 24 hours a day every day. The restaurant itself would close at current times of 11.30pm Sunday to Thursday and midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.
The court heard boy racers stayed on site until 4am at one point but this had now been cut to 1am after McDonalds installed rear car park barriers.
Mr Trevor Meegan, for McDonalds said the firm was not a ‘nanny’ for customers and could not control what they did once they bought food.
It was estimated extended hours would have increased trade by up to three per cent.
Share this article:
What are these?