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Tecoma Victoria: No McDonalds in the Hills
Tecoma is a town in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 34 km east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the Shire of Yarra Ranges. At the 2006 Census, Tecoma had a population of 2,189.

The town is named after the shrub that grew in the area when the need was identified for a railway station for the timber mill that occupied the site where Tecoma Primary School now stands. The Post Office opened on 7 January 1929, closing in 1976.

Tecoma is a small town, nestled between Belgrave and Upwey, adjoining Sherbrooke Forest to the north. It is historically recognized as a foothill township of the Dandenong Ranges; an unique area of cultural significance and biodiversity.

It features a licensed milk bar, video outlet, fish'n'chip shop, hair salon, bakery, second hand clothes shop for kids, second hand furniture shop and a handful of art and craft shops which are along the main road (Burwood Highway), which leads straight up from Melbourne. If you turn off to the east of Walter Street there is also a second hand retro ladies clothing shop and cookies, an opp shop and another hairdressing salon along with a Modern cloth nappy shop with eco baby and cleaning products, also on Walter Street there is a karate school. It also has a number of Real Estate Agencies on both sides of the street. There is an Indian Restaurant, a pet shop and a "Hippie Haven" café, plus a pizza store on Burwood Highway.

Tecoma Primary School is located across the road from the strip of shops.

Tecoma railway station is the second-last railway station on the Belgrave line, and is one of a relatively few stations in Melbourne's metropolitan electric rail network to have only one platform.

The homes in Tecoma are mainly in residential bushland, which attracts numerous native birds of many kinds.

Together with its neighbouring township Upwey, Tecoma has an Australian Rules football team (Upwey-Tecoma) competing in the Yarra Valley Mountain District Football League.

No Maccas in the Hills Campaign:

In 2011, residents became aware that the multinational corporation McDonalds was seeking permission to demolish some of the small local businesses in Tecoma and build a 24 hour drive through, and a restaurant with the capacity of serving up to 2000 people a day. There were over 1100 letters of complaint to the Shire council, who denied the application. McDonalds subsequently appealed the shires decision at VCAT and won in 2012. This was controversial because VCAT overturned a democratically elected body's decision, and because VACT did not take community objections to the proposed development into account. VCAT's decision making process is currently being questioned by communities all over Victoria

The residents' protests against the McDonalds development have been supported at a local government level by Lyster Ward Councillor Samantha Dunn and at a State level by MP James Merlino

Following VCATs decision over 600 locals built a community garden on the proposed site of the McDonalds http://www.burgeroff.org/media/video/. The site was occupied for forty days, before the garden was locked up by five police cars and the landowner, pediatrician Joel Freeman

The Tecoma Village Action Group, is the local Township group and has worked with residents against the McDonalds development for over 2 years. Following VCATs decision, both the Shire Council and TVAG decided that they could not afford to take an appeal to the Supreme Court.

Support and Dissent for No Maccas in the Hills:

The groups No McDonalds in the Dandenong Ranges has currently over 5000 likes on Facebook, and the corresponding local action group No Maccas in the Hills has over 540 members from Tecoma and surrounding hills townships.

There is also a Facebook group set up in support of the McDonalds development, with 160 members.

An extensive account of the ongoing campaign against the proposed McDonalds development can be found at http://www.burgeroff.org.

National and International Support National and international support for NMITH is growing. Public figures who have openly supported the movement include Wurundjeri Ngurungaeta Murrundindi, Jamie Oliver, Stephanie Alexander, Morgan Spurlock, Peter Cundall Genevieve Morris and Rod Quantock. No Maccas in the Hills also shares information with a number of similar movements in other small towns fighting to retain their identities.