Big Macs Face Pushback

England is home to about 1200 McDonald’s (Chicago) restaurants. But a new one proposed for Cheltenham – a city in the southern part of the country that’s roughly 100 miles west of London – has run into a firestorm of opposition, with 15 nearby schools and a college objecting to it, the BBC reports.

Steve Jefferies, head teacher at one of those schools, told the BBC that the new restaurant’s proximity to several schools could have a detrimental impact on pupils’ wellbeing. Katharine Jenner, Director of Obesity Health Alliance, a U.K. coalition of more than 60 organizations working together to reduce obesity by influencing government policy, said McDonald’s proposed restaurant location was “so disappointing.”

“As soon as the child starts having really highly processed, high fat, salt and sugar foods that seem exciting, it edges out healthier foods in their diet and makes them seem bland by comparison,” Jenner said. “Of course, that’s setting them up for a lifetime of poor health as well, including things like Type 2 diabetes.”

One in five children are overweight or obese when they start school in Gloucestershire, the alliance estimates, but by the time they leave primary school, that figure rises to 35%, Jenner told BBC Radio Gloucestershire.

The proposed restaurant, which would be housed in a former TGI Friday’s locale, is still working its way through Cheltenham’s approval process.

In the meantime, a McDonald’s spokesperson told the BBC that the fast-food giant “looks forward to continuing to work with the local community and stakeholders to address any concerns they have,” and that the new restaurant would create 120 jobs.