Two leading UK supermarkets are having delivery troubles of a different kind this week.
Asda has incurred the wrath of local residents after a store in Burnham on Sea, Somerset, applied to vary the hours it can make deliveries into the supermarket. If successful, the application will allow lorries to arrive at the Asda store as early as 5am Monday-Saturday and from 9am on Sundays.
According to a community website in the town of Burnham on Sea, residents fear there will be a deterioration of the quality of their lives, with one saying: “This store is right next door to lots of residential homes. None of us want noisy delivery lorries in this area at 5am – it’s just a ridiculous proposal.”
Meanwhile at the other end of the country, in Darlington, Aldi has admitted breaching Sunday delivery regulations over the last 20 years. The extraordinary admission came as a result of rival discount supermarket Lidl seeking permission from the local council to extend delivery times to one of its nearby stores.
Although it has now submitted an application in regard to Sunday deliveries, Aldi admits the store in question has received Sunday deliveries over the last 20 years, even though the planning permission in place only provides for deliveries to take place between 8am and 6pm Monday-Saturday.
That planning permission was in place before the introduction of the 1994 Sunday Trading Act, and according to a report in the Darlington & Stockton Times, Aldi described these Sunday deliveries as a “mistake.”
In both cases, representatives of planning consultants working with the supermarkets stressed the importance of regular deliveries, seven-days-a-week, and with early starts. These deliveries were said to be vital to ensuring a steady, reliable supply of goods and to maintain optimum shelf life.
