Inspector Rejects McDonald’s Fast Food Plan On Edge of Nature Reserve

Published on: 20 May, 2026
Updated on: 20 May, 2026

View from the hide at Tice’s Meadow.

By David Reading

Fast food chain McDonald’s has lost its appeal against the refusal of planning permission for a drive-through restaurant on the edge of the Tice’s Meadow nature reserve, between Tongham and Badshot Lea.

The Tice’s Meadow Bird Group (TMBG) had raised major concerns about the impact the development might have on protected species and habitats in the nature reserve.

They raised specific worries about the increase in traffic, highway safety, light pollution, noise pollution, litter and smells.

In rejecting McDonald’s proposals, Simon Rawle, the Government inspector who heard the appeal, concluded that the site was an inappropriate location within the countryside for such a development. The proposal would harm the character of the area and lead to a greater physical coalescence between the villages of Ash and Tongham and the town of Aldershot.

The site falls within the Tongham Services on the junction of the A31 and A331, which already accommodates a number of food outlets including Leon, Greggs, Subway and Starbucks.

Guildford Borough Council rejected the fast food chain’s proposal in July 2025 over fears that it would “result in the erosion of the countryside”.

The inspector said the proposal would be “an unacceptably intrusive form of development at odds with existing nature of the site and its setting.”

Little egret at Tice’s Meadow.

He noted: “ I was struck by how tranquil the walk along Blackwater River Path was and that feeling did not significantly diminish as I walked around the circular track in the existing wildlife/ecological area.

“This area of the appeal site is the most valuable, but the area to the south-east, where the restaurant and ancillary works are proposed acts as an important green transition buffer between Tongham Services and the existing wildlife/ecology area, Blackwater River and its associated path.”

The Guildford Dragon NEWS reported in 2024 that more than 5,500 people had signed the petition launched by the TMBG to protest against the plans.

McDonald’s has argued that there is strong demand for a new restaurant in the local area and assured people the new drive-through would be good for the local economy in terms of job creation.

Tice’s Meadow is a community-led nature reserve on the site of the former Farnham Quarry, covering 150 acres. The habitats on site consist of a mosaic of open water, gravel islands and scrapes, reed beds, scrub, woodland, ephemeral ponds and wet and dry grassland.

The site is designated a Site of Nature Conservation Interest, and is registered as an Asset of Community Value with both Guildford and Waverley Borough Councils.

The site was bought by Surrey County Council in December 2021, with funding from Hampshire County Council, Guildford Borough Council, Rushmoor Borough Council, Waverley Borough Council, and Farnham Town Council.