North Tamworth McDonald's development defended by owner/operator Adrian Sippel

Adrian Sippel owns the three existing restaurants, as well as the Gunnedah franchise.

Despite backlash from many Tamworthians, Mr Sippel said the new Maccas would bring "employment and investment into town".

"[Tamworth Regional] Council have made it pretty clear that they're committed to growing the population of Tamworth, and businesses like McDonald's coming to town and investing in Tamworth definitely supports that growth point," he said.

"At a time when the economy is a bit sluggish on the back end of COVID, it's quite timely."

He started out in the kitchens of South Tamworth McDonald's back in 1998, and he said this particular site brought growth to that area of town.

"Over 20 years ago now when South Tamworth opened, there were three or four businesses there," he said.

"There was the pub, the service station, and Maccas came and then Harvey Norman were there, and then the rest sort of followed as people showed confidence in that area.

"I'm expecting more business development to happen in the North Tamworth region based on all that population growth."

But locals have particularly stressed that the North Tamworth site wouldn't help with the obesity levels in town.

However, Mr Sippel said it came down to a choice, and it was "up to people to make an informed decision about what they eat".

"McDonald's have been developing their menu for the last 10 years; we've got healthy choices available on the menu. There's salads, wraps, healthy choices for kids, happy meals like fruit bags and yoghurt, tomatoes and vegetables," he told the Leader.

"We also provide the kilojoule labelling, so there's no secrets about what's in the food.

"We encourage people to enjoy Maccas as part of a healthy, balanced lifestyle. We support the local sport and we like to make it easy for people and make sure the financial part of playing sport is not a barrier for people to be able to do that."

In response to concerns about the noise, traffic, and light spill with homes close to the new restaurant, Mr Sippel said he was "committed to being a good neighbour".

One of the conditions of approval was to restrict trading from 5am-11pm in the first six months of trade.

"We've worked really closely with the surrounding neighbours to negate any concerns," he explained.

"If it is too noisy, we simply won't trade 24 hours.

"The noise assessment and the first six months of trade will determine whether that's something we pursue and if it is too noisy we'll do everything we can to ensure we are complying with noise requirements and make sure the residents are happy."

Despite the opposition, Mr Sippel is adamant the new Maccas will be good for the town, especially in terms of employment.

He already employs about 420 staff in the three Tamworth restaurants alone - making him one of the city's biggest employers - and the new one will add an extra 100-120 staff on top of this.

"It'll give the opportunity to employ some people who have potentially never worked before, people who have been unemployed ... and they'll all be locals," Mr Sippel said.

"It will produce a significant amount in the wages going back into the economy in Tamworth."

It will take a while before it gets to that stage, though. The Maccas mogul anticipates the North Tamworth restaurant wouldn't open until late-2021.

"There's a lot of things that need to be done," he said.

"We're still working through some concerns with the local community to make sure we get the right result in the end."

But it'll be good in the long run, he said, as it would provide "around $5 million of injection into the local economy", and about 100 construction jobs when it's being built.

The $3,336,505 fast-food restaurant will be built at 114-122 Peel Street in North Tamworth, across from Northgate Shopping Centre and Jack Woolastan Oval.

There will also be a McCafe, play area, dual-lane drive-thru, and two waiting bay spaces. The restaurant will seat 82 patrons, and was approved by Tamworth councillors at the December ordinary meeting.