LOCALS have been invited to a community meeting to share their views on plans for a new McDonalds in York.

The meeting, at St Oswald’s Church Hall in Fulford at 7pm on Thursday, has been called by Fishergate’s Labour ward councillors Conrad Whitcroft and Sarah Wilson.

Cllr Whitcroft said he had not spoken to a single local resident who was in favour of the plans for the new fast-food restaurant on the site of the former Iceland store next to Aldi off Fulford Road.

“Everybody is opposed,” he said.

Cllr Whitcroft said locals had told him they were concerned about litter and noise, about traffic – and about the fact the new fast-food outlet would be close to two schools, Danesgate and the York Steiner School, and so could encourage bad eating habits.

READ MORE: Plans for new McDonald's in York spark hundreds of objections

He said he would be going to the meeting with an open mind, to listen to what locals had to say.

But if, as expected, the feeling at the meeting was that locals didn’t want the restaurant, that would give him and Cllr Wilson a mandate to oppose it through the planning process, he said.

If the scheme were to be recommended for approval, they could then call it in so it had to be considered at a planning meeting, he said.

“It is about giving local people the chance to air their views,” Cllr Whitcroft said.

As reported in The Press, the plans have sparked hundreds of objections - with people fearing food smells, increased traffic and litter.