THOSE OF US THAT CARE ABOUT DOVER'S HISTORIC ASSETS, THE HEALTH OF OUR CHILDREN & DOVER WILDLIFE ARE FORCED ONCE MORE TO FIGHT TO STOP McDonald's AND THEIR BULLYBOY CLOWN FROM BURYING OUR HISTORIC WORLD ICON OF A TOWN UNDER A SEA OF TARMAC AND BURGER SIGNS.

First of all, all of us at Friends of Castle Conservation Area Group Dover would like to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for the donations and help been given to us so far, we can not tell you how much it means to us to know we are supported in our campaign by so many of you.

Unfortunately the legal fight is once more ON to stop McDonald's from building their 24 hour Drive-through on this most important and historic site. Seemingly the wishes of over 300 objectors and nearing 35,000 of you that have voiced your unhappiness at the building of a McDonalds' 24-hour Drive-through in such an historic area of Dover have no worth. Even the fact the development will sit directly on top of a former graveyard that once held the bodies of 5,000 souls seems to make no difference to Dover District Council or McDonald's.

It seems the only thing DDC and McDonald's listen to are the courts, thus they have left us with no alternative but to fight such a national injustice and protect our historic assets, the health & wellbeing of our children via the courts.

After extensive legal research our legal representatives at Richard Buxton's have found compelling legal reasons why DDC by granting planning for the McDonald's 24 hour Drive-through the way they did on the 12th June 2025, has once more erred in law.

We again have been forced to start the first steps in the legal process to bring this matter before the courts for the SECOND TIME by way of issuing a new Pre Action Letter to DDC and McDonald's pointing out to them that the planning decision to grant planning permission for the drive-through deviates from UK planning guidelines and thus errs in law and should once more be quashed.

That's where we again unfortunately NEED YOUR HELP - court cases, as you, know take money, even with the greatly reduced fees of our legal team the fight takes lots of money. Dover District Council and McDonald’s' have lots of money, we don't have lots of money, so please if you can, donate what you can, so we can carry on fighting this multi-national, that wants to turn England into one giant McDonald's Drive-through! Their plan is to open 200 giant 24 Hour Drive-through’s McDonalds across the country in the next 3 years, many on sites of national historic and ecological importance, like the Dover site.

Please Note: ALL FUNDS RAISED GO DIRECTLY TO OUR LEGAL TEAM.

If you can, please help us protect this Dover site of immense importance to the nation and its wild life from being lost forever.

Since DDC granted planning once more for the new 24hour Drive-through McDonald, it has been announced that the RED BILLED CHOUGH, the rarest bird species in England, has taken to the skies in South East England for the first time in over 200 years. The young chough took flight from a wild nest in Dover, marking the FIRST TIME in more than two centuries that the bird has lived independently in the wild in Kent. The Chough's nest is directly above the new MacDonalds site, local residents have reported seeing a Chough flying around the St James Church and foraging for food to feed their chick on the land, that, if things are allowed to go ahead, will become a sea of tarmac and bright lights and MacDonalds signs, which will result in the destruction of part of the Chough's natural feeding grounds.

The site McDonald’s wish to build on has been inhabited since pre Roman times. The St James' Church that the new McDonald’s' restaurant building will sit WITHIN A METER OF, dates back to 1070, that’s only four years after the Norman invasion of England! Any good and forward-thinking council would have regard for its historic assets and the history of England and would not allow such a thing to happen so close to a near 1,000-year-old historic site and directly on top of a former graveyard.

Tackling obesity is a goal of Government and one of the greatest challenges facing the UK, costing the NHS around £6.5 billion a year and is the second biggest preventable cause of cancer. Dover District has higher than average obesity levels with 69.4% of adults and 17.8% of Year 6 children classified as obese, which is not surprising, as Dover District ALREADY HAS 99 FAST FOOD TAKEAWAYS! Do we really need another one? Dover District Council seems to think we do, even in the face of Government guidelines that say the contrary

DDC seems to care about the money it will get from the sale of the land it owns, that the McDonald's will sit on, more than the health of the town’s children and the town’s history.

Help us stop McDonald's owning the most historic gateway to England.

THE FIGHT IS SADLY ONCE MORE ON TO STOP THE McDonald's BULLYBOY CLOWN DESTROYING DOVER's HISTORC ASSETS.

Unfortunately, we are forced by Dover District Council and McDonald's to seek all of you who have signed our petition and contributed to our legal fighting fund, to once more help us in fighting a council that wears its lack of regard for the historic assets in its stewardship unashamedly and clearly on its sleeve. Seemingly the wishes of over 300 objectors and 34,400 of you that have voiced your unhappiness at the building of a McDonalds' 24-hour Drive-Thru in such an historic area of Dover have no worth. Even the fact the development will sit directly on top of a former graveyard seems to make no difference to Dover District Council. The proposed site of the development is of immense importance and has been inhabited since Roman times. The St James' Church that the new McDonalds' restaurant will sit within a meter of, dates back to 1070, that's only four years after the Norman invasion of England! How could any council that had any regard for its historic assets and the history of England allow such a thing to happen so close to a near 1,000-year-old historic site and directly on top of a graveyard that once held more than 5,000 bodies?

Well, Dover District Council is that Council. On the 12th June 2025 the McDonalds' 24hrs Drive-Thru planning application once more went before the Dover District Council planning committee with NO CHANGES to its design, positioning on the site or any new concessions made to reduce the harm the development will cause to the surrounding historic assets and their setting. It was recognised at the meeting that DDC had "Erred in Law" in relation to the consideration given to the site's historic assets at their previous planning meeting, but even armed with that knowledge the members of the planning committee were once more happy to grant planning permission for the McDonald's development to go ahead, ignoring the voices of over 34,400 people, the objections of experts in both the fields of historic and ecological stewardship, and even Government guidelines on the siting of Fast Food outlets near schools, a guideline put in place to safeguard the country's next generation. 

Given the above and the fact that St James' Church is still used as a place of worship today and over the centuries has been a place of worship to countless generations, including the first Duke of Wellington, we believe gives rise to the feeling that any fair and reasonable person might possibly come to, the feeling that DDC Planning Committee's decision to grant planning permission for a McDonald's development on this site is an act of arrogance of the highest order and a slight against the sanctity of the site and countless generation across history that have stood within its walls and been buried in its scored grounds.

The irony of ironies is that Dover District Council owns the land where the McDonalds' will be built on, and they are the ones that will gain from the planning permission being granted. No McDonalds', no financial gain for DDC! The reality we are all faced with is that Dover District Council is happy to sacrifice the health and wellbeing of our children and national historic assets for what amounts to 30 pieces of silver.

The only way to fight such national injustice and protect our historic assets and the health and wellbeing of our children is via the courts, that takes money. Dover District Council and McDonalds' have lots of money, we don't have lots of money, that's where we need your help, please donate what you can, so we can carry on fighting this multi-national, that wants to turn England into one giant McDonald's Drive Thru.

HELP US BE THE MOUSE THAT ROARED AND DEFEATED THE GAINT PARIAH THAT IS RONALD McDONALD.

Unfortunately we find ourselves once again needing to comeback to those who feel as we do, that the building of a new McDonald's Drive Thru restaurant in Dover on a former grave yard and within one meter of the of St James' church ruins, which  dates back to 1070 and sites directly under the iconic Dover Castle and next to a primary school,  is wrong.

Earlier this year we mounted legal action against Dover District Council for granting planning permission to build an inappropriate McDonalds Drive Thru restraint on a holy and historic site. The result of our legal action resulted in Dover District Council admitting that they had erred in law by granting planning permission for a McDonald's on such an important historic site and being ordered by the courts to quash the planning permission. 

Sadly even though >34,000 people have signed a petition against the development and the courts have told Dover District Council they erred in law, McDonald's have decided not to listen to the courts or the peoples and have now requested for the planning application to be heard again on the 12th June 2025, as is their legal right under UK law.

We sadly once more need your help in fighting to save this historic site, please give what you can to our legal fighting fund, McDonalds' have deep pockets and a playbook which seems to consist of smash the little guy anyway way they can.

PLEASE NOTE ALL FUNDS RAISED ARE PAID DIRECTLY TO OUR LAWYERS.

To McDonald's people, places and history do not matter, the only thing that matters to McDonald's is profit.

Please give what you can to stop this giant clown swallowing our beautiful town. 

WE HAVE REACHED OUR FIRST £3,000 FUNDRAISING TARGET - THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!
To all of you that signed our petition and donated towards our legal costs to fight the building of a 24 Hour Drive-Thru McDonald's on a former graveyard underneath Dover Castle, WE SALUTE YOU AND GIVE YOU ALL A HUGE THANK YOU!
 
With your help we have been able to get Dover District Council to admit that they "Erred in Law" and should not have granted permission for the proposed development; via your donations we now have the funds to pay our lawyers to get this wholly inappropriate planning decision quashed at the High Court.
 
You are all truly magnificent, we and the people of Dover that care for and fight to preserve & enhance the historic assets of Dover for future generations thank you from the bottom of our hearts, we could not have got this far without your help and support.