Brisbane residents report repeated night-time construction noise at West End McDonald's site

Brisbane residents say they are being repeatedly woken in the dead of night by illegal construction work on a 24-hour McDonald's in West End.

612 ABC Brisbane has obtained footage of work being done at the site well past midnight.

One of the videos shows workers unloading steel at 4am, according to video's metadata.

A Brisbane City Council spokesperson said it had not authorised work at this site at this time.

Loading...

"We understand construction noise outside normal hours can be frustrating for nearby residents and we take these concerns seriously," the spokesperson said.

"Out-of-hours work can only be undertaken where the appropriate approvals are in place.

"There is currently no approval for work at this site at 4am."

Under Brisbane City Council laws, construction can only be done between 6.30am and 6.30pm unless the company has gets out-of-hours work approval.

Council documents show the council had granted the construction company Store Tec out-of-hours construction approval, but only between 9pm and 2am on certain nights.

Store Tec declined to comment on whether it had violated its out-of-hours permit, saying it was a matter for McDonald's.

A McDonalds spokesperson said investigations were ongoing.

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

"We are aware of concerns regarding the timing of certain construction activities and are reviewing these with our construction partners to ensure all works are carried out in accordance with relevant requirements and approvals.

West End resident TJ, who asked not to be named, said he had spent several months being woken up by the sounds of cranes, drills, and reversing trucks.

TJ said it happened far more frequently than the five nights permitted by the council's out-of-hours construction 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."

Danvre Clements, who lives just across the road from the construction site, said he too had been kept awake by the sound of heavy machinery for months.

"They just come in the middle of the night, no notification whatsoever," Mr Clements said.

"They've done everything in their power to thumb their nose up at council and the regulations that we all have to abide by.

The West End McDonald's is due to open in late 2026.