TOWN councillors are to investigate alleged breaches of a ban on night-time deliveries to the Waitrose supermarket in Wellington.

The move follows efforts by Waitrose to be allowed to drop a planning condition which bars deliveries between the store’s 8pm closing time and 7am the following day.

Waitrose initially asked for permission to be allowed up to three lorry deliveries at any time of night but later changed its application to an 11 pm deadline.

Town councillor John Thorne took up the concerns of residents in nearby Orchard Court, Acre Cottages and Buckwell, who feared they would suffer sleepless nights.

Now he has put alleged planning breaches by Waitrose on the agenda of the town council’s planning committee, which meets on February 1.

Cllr Thorne said: “Residents have been keeping a diary over the past several weeks of vehicles delivering to Waitrose at all times of the night and waking them up with the noise.

“They catalogue a whole range of different times, such as 1.15am on a Sunday and 5.10am on a Thursday, and say most are either smaller Waitrose vans or similar vehicles.

“If this is true, then it is a blatant breach by Waitrose because their planning approval says ‘no’ deliveries, it does not say ‘none except for smaller vans’.”

Cllr Thorne said he had already complained to the enforcement section of the Deane council, which will eventually take a decision on the company’s planning application.

“Unfortunately, the Deane have not even had the courtesy to acknowledge the complaint, let alone advise what they might be doing about it,” he said.

“Therefore, I am asking my fellow town councillors to look at this and consider what action they feel is appropriate.

“What is really disappointing is that Waitrose throughout the time residents have been keeping their diary have been claiming they want to be a ‘good neighbour’ yet do not seem to be living up to it.”