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Illegal late-night construction filmed at Brisbane McDonald’s site
🇦🇺 Australia /Energy & Infrastructure

Illegal late-night construction filmed at Brisbane McDonald’s site

From ABC Australia · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Under investigation
  • Residents say construction crews have repeatedly worked overnight at a West End McDonald’s site, including unloading steel at 4 a.m.
  • Brisbane City Council says it has no approval for work at that time, although it granted limited permission for construction between 9 p.m. and 2 a.m. on certain nights.
  • McDonald’s said it was reviewing the timing of the work with its construction partners, while the restaurant is due to open in late 2026.

Residents near a future 24-hour McDonald’s in Brisbane’s West End say cranes, drills and reversing trucks have repeatedly woken them during the night. Video obtained by 612 ABC Brisbane shows work continuing well past midnight, including steel being unloaded at 4 a.m., according to the footage’s metadata.

Brisbane City Council said it had not authorised work at the site at that time. Under council rules, construction generally can take place between 6:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. unless the company receives approval for out-of-hours work. Council documents show Store Tec had permission to work between 9 p.m. and 2 a.m. on certain nights, but not at 4 a.m.

We get woken up almost every night. We hear all sorts of noise, the unloading of vehicles, cranes, screaming, shouting. It’s absolutely not fair.

— TJA West End resident describing repeated overnight disruption from construction.

A resident identified as TJ said the disruption had continued for several months and appeared to occur more often than the five nights allowed under the permit. “We get woken up almost every night,” TJ said. “We hear all sorts of noise, the unloading of vehicles, cranes, screaming, shouting. It’s absolutely not fair.”

They’ve done everything in their power to thumb their nose up at council and the regulations that we all have to abide by. There’s one rule for developers, another rule for the rest of us.

— Danvre ClementsA resident criticising the construction work and alleged disregard for council rules.

Danvre Clements, who lives across the road, said workers arrived without notifying residents. “They’ve done everything in their power to thumb their nose up at council and the regulations that we all have to abide by,” he said. “There’s one rule for developers, another rule for the rest of us.”

Store Tec declined to comment on whether it had breached its permit, saying the matter was for McDonald’s. The company said investigations were ongoing and that it was reviewing concerns with its construction partners. The West End restaurant is scheduled to open in late 2026.

McDonald’s is committed to being a good neighbour in the communities in which we operate, and we take feedback from local residents seriously.

— McDonald’s spokespersonThe company’s response to complaints about the timing of construction.
About this summary

Originally published by ABC Australia in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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