Supermarket Asda says its plan to increase delivery times at one of its stores will ease congestion at peak times and not lead to an increase in noise levels as locals fear. The Biggleswade store has applied to Mid Beds District Council to extend delivery times to 17 hours a day in order to keep shelves stocked up with goods.
It has requested an earlier delivery time of 6am and a two hour extension at the end
of the day to 11am, Monday to Saturday. Asda's property communications manager Tom McGarry says if it gets the go-ahead it won't be increasing its 10 LGV deliveries a day, it will just make delivery patterns more flexible.
"If we can have the extra two hours in the evening it will take traffic off the roads at peak times," he adds. "For the 6am delivery we have devised a solution of delivering to the front of the store, away from residential areas." But so far the application has received 21 responses - 19 of them against the plans.
Biggleswade mayor Peter Vickers says: "The town council did object to the revised hours, probably because they felt the extra hours could have a disruptive element from a resident's point of view. That will have to be assessed by the environmental health officers." Vickers adds that no-one has complained to him about the current noise levels, but he thinks congestion won't be eased if the supermarket gets the go-ahead.
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