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Steve Aicheler is a community councillor for Machen. He stood for the Liberal Democrats in the 2025 Caerphilly Senedd by-election.

If you’ve spent any time on the A472 lately, you’ll know it doesn’t take much to bring the road to a standstill. School run, a bit of rain, someone slowing to turn… and suddenly everything grinds to a halt. So when I heard about the plan for a brand-new McDonald’s drive-thru on that exact stretch, my first thought was: really? Here?

As someone who recently stood as the Lib Dem candidate in the by-election, I’ve spoken to a lot of people across Caerphilly and Ystrad Mynach. People’s biggest concerns are health, transport and traffic, plus the state of our high streets.

Let’s start with the traffic, because that’s what everyone mentions first. A drive-thru isn’t just passing traffic popping in. It’s more car journeys, queues out onto the road, last minute decisions and distracted drivers. We’ve all seen the queues from McDonald’s in Caerphilly blocking up the roundabout – and that’s not a main road! The A472 simply isn’t built for more traffic. It’s already busy, and adding a major fast-food outlet is only going to make things worse. More congestion, more pollution, and more hassle for people who just want to get to work, school or the shops.

Then there’s our high streets. Ystrad Mynach and Blackwood have brilliant small cafés, takeaways and market stalls. These places aren’t just businesses – they’re run by our neighbours, and they keep money in the local area. When a big chain arrives, it doesn’t magically bring brand-new customers. It just pulls people away from existing local spots. McDonald’s talks about creating “up to 135 jobs”, but we need to be honest: these aren’t necessarily new jobs. If local cafés lose income, they cut hours. If takeaways lose customers, they let staff go. And the money spent at a multinational doesn’t bounce around the community the way it does when you buy from a family-run food business.

And look – I’m not saying we should all live off kale and lentils. A cheeky take away now and again is absolutely fine. But it’s also true that the more fast-food outlets you put within easy reach, the more people rely on them. That’s not great for our health.

What frustrates me is that Maesycwmmer deserves better. Caerphilly is full of amazing home-grown food businesses – Woodies in Blackwood, the Cwm Bakery in Ystrad Mynach, Fish Kitchen 1854 – all local and serving great food. That’s the kind of business that gives local employment and keeps money in our community.

This isn’t just about burgers. It’s about the kind of place we want to live in. Do we want more traffic, more litter, and more money leaving the borough? Or do we want thriving town centres, safer streets, and development that actually fits our area?

McDonald’s has launched its consultation and will no doubt say all the right things about investment and opportunity. But the truth is simple: not every development is a good fit for every place. A McDonald’s on the A472 squeezed between busy junctions and away from a town centre just doesn’t make sense.