McDonald's appeals decision on outlet near reserve

McDonald's is appealing a decision to refuse planning permission for a new restaurant near a nature reserve in Surrey.

Guildford Borough Council (GBC) rejected the fast food chain's proposal for an outlet at a Blackwater Valley Road fuel station, in Tongham, in July 2025, over fears it would "result in the erosion of the countryside".

GBC said the plans for the restaurant, on land next to Tice's Meadow Site of Nature Conservation Interest, would now go before the Planning Inspectorate at a date to be confirmed.

McDonald's - which has been approached for comment - previously said it would create 120 jobs and it was committed to enhancing biodiversity around the site.

A petition calling for GBC to reject the McDonald's site, which was first proposed in October 2023, received more than 8,000 signatures.

In Tongham, local resident Susie Wray, 77, told the BBC: "I go through the nature reserve every day - we need to protect it."

Another resident, Pauline Rutland, 84, added: "They work very hard to make that nature reserve, so it's the wrong place for it."

Residents from Tongham and Aldershot also complained that a new McDonald's was "just not necessary" as there as the chain already had other restaurants nearby.

The council also rejected the plans on the grounds it had not properly assessed the flood risk posed by the development, and that it would erode the corridor of green land between Ash, Tongham and Aldershot.

Farnham councillor Chris Jackman, for nearby Badshot Lea village, said the development would cause "significant and irreversible harm to the local environment", adding it "offers no benefits which outweigh the substantial harm".

A consultation on the Planning Inspectorate appeal is available on its website until 10 March.

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