McDONALD'S AND PUBLIC HOUSES

That this House condemns McDonald's for actively encouraging the use of public houses as sites for development through the development section on its official website which lists pub conversions amongst other desired sites and offers a £20,000 introductory fee to anyone able to locate a suitable site; acknowledges that this practice will contribute to the decline of the Great British pub, a cherished British institution which is already being threatened by the predatory purchasing of pubs for development by supermarkets; recognises that the current planning system allows the demolition of freestanding pubs and the conversion of pubs to restaurants, supermarkets, betting shops and payday loan shops without planning permission, which means that companies like McDonald's and others are intentionally targeting and converting viable, wanted pubs for non-pub use without the community having a say; and calls on the Government to close the loophole in planning policy that allows pubs to be converted or demolished without planning permission so that all changes of use or demolitions of a pub go through the planning process, to allow the local community the right to have a say and to defend their local pubs.