Greenwich Council has rejected Asda’s proposal to extend the opening hours of its Express store after residents objected to early morning deliveries.

Asda Express had asked to open one hour earlier and close one hour later on Sundays, bringing its opening times in line with those for the rest of the week. On weekdays, the store is open from 6am to 11pm.

After receiving five objections, including two from local councillors Aidan Smith and Pat Slattery, the application came up at the council’s October 22 Planning Committee meeting. 

The impact of the proposal on the local area was raised by residents and their representatives, elected or not. Smith was worried about the noise of lorry deliveries. He said that a similar situation had happened on the same road.

A restaurant authorised to serve food and beverages had its license revoked in 2019, when the council received 43 complaints from residents. Documentation shows that the restaurant, “C’s” was allowed to serve alcohol “only as supplementary to a substantial meal” until midnight from Monday to Saturday. But residents reported that it remained noisy until 2am on certain nights.

Jonathan Wilson, who lives opposite Asda Express, has taken on the role of representing the views of residents nearest the store. Wilson spoke out against the proposal at the planning meeting, highlighting the presence of young children and elderly people in the neighbourhood, who he said would be particularly affected by the extended hours. 

Adam Cundale, town planning manager at ASDA, said that he did not want to cause problems for local residents. He also emphasised that the proposed delivery hours for lorries were in line with those that worked best in other ASDA Express stores.  When Slattery asked Cundale “What kind of consultation have you had with the residents who lived there before this was started?” he admitted to not having consulted the locals.

Wilson expressed disappointment about environmental change issues. He said, “I’m astounded that the approval has been put forward for delivery lorries on Greenwich South Street. That will cause absolute mayhem—not just noise pollution and disruption, but disruption to the traffic as well.”.

He added that if a store selling alcohol is open, it would lead to “what I would consider to be environmental changes as well as unsocial behaviour, on top of the delivery issues.”

Wilson also advocated for a convenience store, located on the corner of Granite South Street and Blackheath, which has been in business for over 30 years. He said that the family-run store would be massively affected by the extended hours of Asda Express. 

Gary Dillon, chair of planning, along with the councillors present, denied the Asda Express proposal on the basis that members believed the noise from deliveries prior to 8am on Sundays and public holidays would have an unacceptable impact on residents at a time it was reasonable for them to expect the area to be quiet.