People living near Waitrose have been woken by unlawful deliveries to the store in the middle of the night. Planning regulations currently ban its lorries arriving between 8pm and 7am.
After hearing from Cllr John Thorne who has been monitoring the situation, Wellington town council voted to write to Waitrose to complain and ask for an explanation.
“Residents have told me about deliveries at 1.30 am, 3.00am and 5.30am in the period between the end of November and late January,” said Cllr Thorne. “They’ve also collected registration numbers of some of the vans and lorries.”
He added that both the store manager and the Waitrose agent had no knowledge of these activities and were horrified to hear of them.
Waitrose are now applying to have their evening delivery window extended by three hours to 11pm. Councillors to recommend approval of the change to Taunton planning committee.
“The situation calls for a balance between the local residents and the needs of a business that brings a lot of jobs and contributes to the local economy,” said Cllr Andy Govier.