Somerfield Lorry

[eater81]

Anyone else out there have problems with the Somerfield delivery lorry causing a racket at all hours of the night? Quite why they must choose such a time to make their deliveries is beyond me. Lets get together, put an action of nuisance against them and end this farce.

[Annasfield]

Interesting username there muffeater. ha ha

[KalamityKel]

and what would u propose to do about them? They have to deliver at some point...

[kford]

It's either then, or in the day, blocking LL with a 30-tonne truck, and being ticketed, the cost of which is always passed onto the shopper. I think night-time deliveries in London are a good idea, for that reason.

[Asset]

unless you live near a delivery area. I used to live opposite a small industrial estate which had refrigerated trucks delivering at all hours and it used to drive me insane.

And before anyone says 'well you shouldn't have moved there blah blah blah, what do you expect blah blah, urban living blah', I was there first.

Actually, that was preferable to the drinks wholesalers who used to rearrange their metal kegs at 6am on a Sunday using a forklift truck.

Those were the days.

Not a lot you can do about it tho'.

[SeanMacGabhann]

Tis a nightmare living close to one of these places - but it isn't true to say nothing can be done

If people choose to not shop at supermarkets but at shops which stock more local produce something could be done about it - there wouldn't be any need for articulated lorries at all hours of the morning. But I'm fighting a losing battle with that sort of talk aren't I?

[Ant]

I agree with you Sean, but yes - losing battle I think. Or at least and incredibly long game.

[eater81]

All im saying is try living right next to it. I don't see why they couldn't get all the deliveries done before 12 o,clock at night. Say they start at nine, they could easily get it done. I couldn't care less about Somerfeld's logistical concerns, its my night's sleep which is most important to me.

The laws of nuisance are in my favour. Somerfield are "interfering with my enjoyment of my property" and therefore action could be viably taken against them.

[KalamityKel]

Have you tried speaking to management at Somerfield? Many years ago residents of Chesterfield Grove came to an agreement with Iceland,where the problem was considerably worse, over delivery times and the instruction to their delivery lorries to turn their engines/coolers off if they were delivering early in the morning or needed to park up if the gates were locked.

Have a word, you may be able to come to a similar agreement.

Just a thought...

[Siduhe]

There's a lot of information about this kind of issue on the Southwark Council website. As Kel says, start by speaking with the store (head office and local manager). If you don't get any joy from them, move onto the Southwark Noise team. Both of these are steps that any Court will expect you to have taken before starting legal action. If you don't you may be at risk of an adverse costs order.

As an aside, if you do end up in Court, you should make your application for an abatement order under Section 82 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, not a tortious claim for nuisance. A claim for nuisance is far more likely to be compenstated in damages than an injunction, whereas there is a statutory remedy of an abatement order under the EPA. The test is easier to meet too.

[kford]

Turning the engines and refridgeration units off is the simplest idea. Otherwise they'll deliver in the day and block LL, like the Dutch flower truck.

[eater81]

Its not the engines, but the clattering and banging of crates which is the problem. The flaming thing has just turned up at 23:15, a full hour and a quarter after the store has closed. Thats a full extra hour of noise until the small hours.

[KalamityKel]

How long do they usually take to unload and load with the cages?

[kford]

FYI: http://www.fta.co.uk/information/london/lorry-control-scheme/lorry_ban_2pdf.pdf

I suspect the Somerfield truck comes under the 18-tonne threshold.