Brisbane neighbours complain as late-night McDonald’s site work goes beyond authorised hours
Residents in Brisbane’s West End say they are being jolted awake by construction at a new McDonald’s site in the middle of the night, after
Residents in Brisbane’s West End say they are being jolted awake by construction at a new McDonald’s site in the middle of the night, after video emerged of workers unloading steel at about 4am. Brisbane City Council says it has not authorised work that early at the site.
The fast-food restaurant is scheduled to open in late 2026. But for neighbours living nearby, the immediate issue is the noise. They say work has repeatedly continued well past midnight at the 24-hour McDonald’s development, turning a late-night build into an early-morning disturbance.
Footage shows work at 4am
612 ABC Brisbane obtained footage from the site that shows construction activity long after most of the city has gone quiet. One of the videos carries metadata indicating workers were unloading steel at 4am. That timing sits outside ordinary council rules.
Under Brisbane City Council laws, construction is generally limited to between 6.30am and 6.30pm unless a company has approval for out-of-hours work. The council says no such approval exists for work at 4am at this site.
A Brisbane City Council spokesperson said the authority understands how disruptive construction noise can be for nearby homes and said it takes complaints seriously. “We understand construction noise outside normal hours can be frustrating for nearby residents and we take these concerns seriously,” the spokesperson said.
Neighbour complaints pile up
The dispute points to a familiar tension in growing cities: new developments promise jobs and services, but they can also bring months of dust, truck noise and sleep loss for people living next door. In this case, the noise is not just about daytime inconvenience. It is happening while most residents are trying to sleep.
Council documents show the council had granted the construction company Store Tec out-of-hours construction, but the footage obtained by the Brisbane broadcaster suggests some work went beyond what has been authorised. The council has not said publicly what action, if any, it plans to take.
For now, the project moves ahead and the opening remains set for late 2026. The residents, though, are still left listening for the next truck in the dark. “There is currently no approval for work at this site at 4am,” the council spokesperson said.
