4:58pm Saturday 13th March 2010
Feras have been raised that delivery lorries to a new supermarket will cause “chaos” on a busy road.
Sainsbury’s Local in Western Road, Hove, opened its doors on Wednesday – almost directly opposite a Tesco Express.
Residents, who voiced opposition to the Sainsbury’s store, argue that lorries making deliveries to the two shops at the same time will block the road.
Councillor Paul Elgood said: “The council’s response has been wholly inadequate.
Over the past month we have been pushing officers to talk to Sainsbury’s to try to minimise the effect of the loading in Western Road. Residents are deeply concerned it’s going to cause a double blockage as Tesco unloads almost daily opposite.
“Buses and other vehicles won’t be able to pass freely.”
He said he has requested a meeting with council officers about the issue.
A Brighton and Hove City Council spokeswoman said: “The two supermarkets opened in existing retail units so did not require planning permission. Therefore the council was unable to impose any restrictions on deliveries.
“Major retailers tend to use large vehicles for deliveries and we are aware this can cause problems at certain times.
“We would urge Tesco and Sainsbury’s to get together to discuss how they can coordinate deliveries to avoid disruption and be good neighbours to both residents and other businesses in the area.”
A Sainsbury’s spokeswoman said: “Our intended delivery solution for our new Western Road Local is to time our delivery to not coincide with our neighbours.”
The Sainsbury’s in Western Road has created 32 jobs.
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