THE enormous eight metre tall fast food take away sign at KFC in March continues to divide opinion two weeks after the store opened.
Councillor Jan French, who lives nearby, has spoken out against the sign.
She said: “This used to be open farmland and now we are stuck with a busy fast food outlet, generating rubbish, with a sign which is totally in your face.”
Di Wood, of Whittlesey, in a letter to the Cambs Times, criticised Fenland District Council’s Planning Committee for allowing the sign to be erected.
She said: “The whole Planning Committee at Fenland missed the small detail of a brightly lit KFC sign eight metres tall and so it now stands across the street from the unfortunate local residents.
“Wouldn’t this be the same committee that brought us Supermarketgate and the white plastic flats just three metres from St Mary’s church in Whittlesey?
“Wouldn’t this be those smug individuals we see smiling out of the pages of your newspaper every week?
“Can somebody explain why so many people are content to keep voting for them? With Martin Curtis in charge of the County Council can we now look forward to Kings College chapel sporting a wind turbine from its roof?”
Another Westry resident said: “The sign is massive, way bigger than is necessary.
“It is visible from a heck of a long way away and I really sympathise with the closer residents.
“The small voice of the local residents had no influence over the planning of this place and as normal corporate feet are stamping over the small and not so mighty.
“No doubt it will remain and light up the night sky to entice even more people to its doors. On the plus side if aliens were to land at least it will be visible from space.”
Mypointofview symphatised with residents who lived near the sign.
He said: “I wouldn’t want to live next to it and I’m sure the bungalow would be hard to sell. Maybe they should have sold out to the developers for when the next restaurant gets built beside KFC!”
But the sign received support in some quarters.
Norfolk and good said: “Saw it for the first time on Thursday. I must say, I thought it made a lovely little oasis an otherwise very dull and uninteresting area.
“It’s a nice bright red colour, and that kindly old gent with his cheerful smile on the sign really brightened up my drive through the soulless Fens!”
One poster spoke of the economic benefits of KFC coming to March.
Lee said: “It creates jobs for local people . More things to worry about than a KFC sign god help us.”
But a fellow poster disputed his statement.
He said: “I chuckled at the statement on the jobs created by the new March KFC.
“KFC may have employed 40 staff but I went in there and I don’t think any of them are local people.
Bernard Randall addressed this claim spoke out in support of the fast food chain.
He said: “I assume that he knows every one of March’s over 21,000 residents personally, so can judge first hand whether or not they are local people.
“I also assume that he has the ability to 100 per cent accurately identify the local dialect.
“If he doesn’t like the fact KFC has set up shop may I suggest that he does not eat in the aforementioned establishment. I’m pretty sure that other local people will be happy to have a new eatery about.”
The sign has also provoked fierce debate on Facebook.
One commenter said: “I live nowhere near the site but I think it sticks out like a sore thumb. I hope that it is removed and replaced with something a bit more in keeping with the area.”
This view was echoed by a fellow commenter, who said: “It is over the top for the area. I feel it makes the area look thrashy.”
Another commenter, who raised concerns about the safety implications of the sign, said: “I think the sign and traffic blocked visibility into Tescos. It will only be a short matter of time before there is an accident there.”
One contributor argued that the issue had been blown out of proportion: “I think there is more to worry about in our town, country ... world than a KFC sign but that’s just me.”
But another commenter responded: “I think most people would agree unless it pitched up outside your front room and the colonel was trying to watch TV through your window with a torch.”
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