Fast-food chain McDonald’s and KFC are planning to build a restaurant in Česká Lípa near the I/9 main road at the exit from the town to Nový Bor. Both investors are interested in the city’s land. However, locals in the vicinity of the planned restaurants do not like it, fearing increased traffic and the devaluation of their properties. The intention to sell the land is still under discussion, said deputy mayor Martin Brož (ANO). He said the council should discuss the possible sale in the summer.
The land next to the I/9 road behind the Yukon restaurant is to be used for a McDonald’s restaurant, and the company is interested in the roughly 7,000-square-metre plot. Nearby, at the roundabout by the gas station, there should be a KFC restaurant; the company wants to buy a plot of about 3,000 square meters. The chain wants to build the restaurants, including access roads and parking lots. The two chains are expected to offer more than 100 jobs in the city, including part-time jobs for students.
A number of people in the area surrounding the planned restaurants do not like the plan, and it has been criticised in particular by residents of the nearby Lada housing estate, but also by the owners of some neighbouring plots. They wanted the city to offer the investors land elsewhere or unused properties in the city. However, the deputy mayor pointed out that the investors have their own philosophy and are not interested in any brownfields. The town hall will now publish the intention to sell the land, anyone can bid for it, the price offered will be decisive.
“I welcome the intentions of both chains to build their restaurants in Česká Lípa. I understand that not everyone goes to these restaurants, but most of us like to eat food from McDonald’s or KFC. We will expand the range of places to eat in the town, we will create new jobs, and we can cooperate with the restaurants on various events in the town,” said Mayor Jitka Volfová (ANO). The nearest restaurants of these chains are in Děčín, Boleslav or Liberec, she said. “I believe that the new restaurants will not only be frequented by locals, but also by people from the surrounding area,” she added.
There has been talk of a McDonald’s restaurant in Česká Lípa for several years. The developer GIBELOTTE even bought a plot of land in the Špičák housing estate near the roundabout by the Lidl store in 2011 with the intention of building a McDonald’s restaurant there. “This intention was enshrined in the contract as a condition of the sale of the land. However, the condition has not been fulfilled to date, and the company has been paying a contractual penalty of CZK 500 per day for about ten years,” said Kristýna Kňákal Brožová, a spokesperson for the town hall.
Source: CTK
