Supermarket fined £17k for out-of-hours deliveries

A supermarket has been fined more than £17,000 for breaching conditions over out-of-hours deliveries.

Lidl pleaded guilty to breaching planning conditions at Bristol Magistrates' Court on 17 March, after a prosecution was brought by South Gloucestershire Council.

The authority said neighbours had complained about being disturbed by early morning and late night deliveries to Lidl's store on Halls Road, Kingswood, that were outside its permitted hours.

A spokesperson for the supermarket said Lidl apologised for the "inconvenience caused to our neighbours on these occasions".

Lidl has been ordered to pay a £14,500 fine, as well as a £2,000 victim surcharge and the council's costs of £973.66, bringing the total to £17,473.66.

The court heard that South Gloucestershire Council's planning enforcement team first received a complaint in May last year over goods being delivered outside the hours agreed when planning permission was given to build the store.

Despite being contacted by the council, investigators found that the breaches had continued - leading to the council taking action.

Councillor Sean Rhodes, cabinet member responsible for environmental enforcement, said: "Conditions attached to planning consent are there for a reason, and when they are ignored, we will take enforcement action.

"Deliveries taking place late at night and early in the morning can be very disruptive for nearby residents, so I'm really pleased that we've been able to bring this prosecution and ensure the supermarket meets its obligations."

A Lidl spokesperson said the company was "committed to ensuring that our stores are fully stocked for our customers and always strive to adhere to restrictions in place relating to deliveries."

They added: "It is always our aim to keep disruption to an absolute minimum.

"We would like to provide reassurance to the council that several measures have been implemented to help prevent this from occurring again in the future."

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