Our lives have been ruined by a sickening smell – it’s lowered our house prices and it’s about to get even worse
NEIGHBOURS of a KFC drive thru have warned Britons of the “awful” reality – with disgusting smells, litter and reckless delivery drivers.
It comes as the fast food chain has announced a £1.5 billion expansion plan, with 500 new stores set to hit the UK over the next five years.
They hope to rival the growth of other chicken shop chains like Popeyes and Wingstop.
In addition to its 500 new stores, they will upgrade 200 of their existing stores, as well as taking on managers, chefs, and newly created “guest experience” roles.
Residents in West Wickham, London have warned against the expansion plan, citing littered streets and disgusting smells as just some of the issues the company brought to the area.
The site has undergone many transformations over the last decade or so – beginning as the beloved White Hart pub before becoming a taperia, a steakhouse and, as of 2017, a KFC drive thru.
It is particularly problematic for the residents living on Cavendish Way, as many of their gardens back on to the fast food restaurant’s car park.
During the planning process, over 1,200 residents launched a campaign against the proposal.
The proposals were submitted twice, facing significant backlash throughout, before they were approved by Bromley Council, setting a regrettable precedent that “if you just persevere you can do anything” according to retired city worker and local Tim.
Once approved, Tim said that they completely changed the site – chopping trees down, filling in a pond, and covering the site in tarmac.
He now refuses to visit the site in protest.
Tim said: “I don’t mind a KFC but I refuse to use that one.”
When his daughter and her now-husband stayed at his house, they were under strict instructions not to visit that particular store.
His frustration with that specific branch, which is located off a roundabout at the top of Cavendish Way, stems from the litter and smells.
Tim said that he has seen people drive onto their street to eat the food before throwing their rubbish out of the window, sometimes littering his drive.
While the store “said they would send someone out to keep the road clean”, Tim said, “they haven’t done that.”
Catherine Carol, who lives opposite Tim, has experienced similar issues.
She said: “It’s bloody awful. I came home yesterday and there’s a load of rubbish on the street by my house – they don’t clear up after themselves.
“We have got masses of boxes around here. It’s disgusting.”
In addition to the rubbish, she said the KFC has made it difficult to enjoy the summer weather, with residents of Cavendish Way’s gardens facing the drive thru.
She said: “In the summer you can smell the grease and oil.”
From when the store opens at 10.30am, until it closes at 11pm, residents are subjected to the smell of oil, grease, and fried chicken, as the wind carries the smell into their gardens.
It left Catherine saying: “I wish it wasn’t there.”
Neighbour Dean Ferguson, 62, has found the smell particularly difficult to deal with.
He said: “The noxious smells you get drafting across at peak times can overwhelm you.”
Like Tim, he has seen people parking on their road to eat the fast food before “launch[ing] it out the side of the car.”
He added: “It’s really disgusting, people don’t seem to care.”
This is an issue he foresaw when the proposals were initially submitted, as he was one of the many residents to object to the plans.
He said: “I did object to it several years ago. I could see what was going to happen.”
Even when it isn’t open, 83-year-old Derek Avent said: “There’s a 24-hour smell that just doesn’t go away.”
Derek lives in the retirement village on the opposite side of the KFC.
He said that his ground floor flat is ruined by the smell, particularly on summer days when he opens his window.
Derek added: “On a sunny day like today when I open the window it’s all I can smell, and it’s bad.”
Another issue Derek highlighted is the increased traffic caused on quite a small road.
Delivery drivers are a particular concern for retirement home residents as he said: “All you see going there are just guys on bikes with the big boxes for delivery orders, and they have no care for motorists or people walking nearby.”
Dean said that traffic is especially bad during peak times, like on a Friday, which can “create quite a bit of congestion.”
Not all residents are as put off by the fast food chain though, as Devin Parmar, 41, said: “It’s actually a selling point – I like the smell.”
He added that “it’s really convenient” and that ultimately he is “glad it’s there.”
Devin did acknowledge the risk of increased litter with the chain’s expansion, however, he said: “that’s more on people throwing rubbish on the floor, not throwing it in a bin.”
As long as KFC provides adequate bins and accounts for successful waste management as part of the expansion, Devin thinks it will be a good thing, and the members of the community should learn to take care of their litter.
With the news that the store expansion could create 7,000 jobs, Devin said it was nice to see “a chain… actually investing in the UK which is a good thing” especially “at a time where people are complaining about cost of living and unemployment rates.”
Philip Charsley, 60, shared a similarly positive mindset.
He said: “To be honest I haven’t had any problems with it.
While he admitted you do “occasionally get a smell”, he said “it’s no worse than somebody that’s having a barbecue.”
His main issue with the chain is that “it’s just not good food” as he would rather cook from scratch than indulge in the deep fried food.
While most residents seemed to agree that its former occupants were better, they were also more apprehensive about what could replace the KFC if it ever shut down.
Tim initially expressed a hope that “it might close down” as he noted it’s “never really that busy.”
However, he said: “The worry now is if that does fail, what do you get next? A McDonalds or a Burger King? I just don’t want those sorts of places.”
Slightly further down the road is a McDonalds drive thru that Philip says “causes major traffic issues,” leaving him grateful that the KFC is not very busy.
Long-term residents seem more put-out by the addition to their suburban neighbourhood, while Philip and Devin, who moved to the area four and six years ago respectively, were more positive.
With an average Tripadvisor rating of 1.7, visitors to West Wickham’s KFC complain of rude staff, soggy fries, and incorrect orders.
While the new initiative could provide new job opportunities, residents of West Wickham empathise with Britons across the country who might be feeling apprehensive about the chain’s expansion.
Despite Devin’s positive attitude, he did acknowledge that “litter and pest issues will be the main concern for residents across the country as it could cause issues in each of the bubbles near each location.”
A spokesperson for Bromley Council said: “Permission was granted for this development over a decade ago, which followed the usual process for determining Planning applications and considered all representations, including from residents, received at that time.
“We have had few complaints relating to this property, but residents can raise any concerns, which will be investigated through our Planning or Public Protection Enforcement teams as required.”
We have approached KFC for comment.