A planning condition stipulated that deliveries should only be made to or despatched from the site between 7am and 11pm. The company sought permission to begin deliveries from 5am. A local resident maintained that the company was already operating in breach of the condition because his sleep had been disturbed by large vehicles arriving between 5am and 7am and occasionally earlier.
While accepting that earlier deliveries had been made, the company sought permission for additional deliveries to allow a continuous supply of perishable goods to be in place before 9am. But after reviewing a noise assessment, the inspector was not satisfied that levels would fall within acceptable limits.
In particular, he noted that the trailer legs of lorries often scraped the ground on the access road into the service area, causing considerable noise and vibration. Although the site lay in an urban area, he observed that noise levels in the early morning were relatively low. He concluded that the additional delivery movements would adversely affect nearby residents' amenity.
DCS Number 100-050-913
Inspector Edward Simpson; Hearing.
