I am losing sleep because of Aldi in Waterford city center

StefanSage

Hi,
I have a serious issue with noise that is coming from the back of Aldi store in the center of Waterford City.
The loud and obnoxious sounds that are coming from their loading bay at 5AM when the delivery tucks start arriving to load and unload stock in the morning is driving me insane and causing me to lose 2-3 hours of sleep.
It's not just the Lorry that makes noise, it's nonstop noise of metal hitting against metal, scratching and the loud shouting of aldi workers
I am seeking advice on how to address my current issue. Is it even legal for Aldi to carry out loading and unloading of goods in such a built up area at such an early hour of the morning ?

ohnonotgmail

Have you told Aldi about the issue? that should be your first step.

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

Wanderer78

The above and earplugs for now

StefanSage

Thanks for the tips guys.
I am just wondering, what are the odds of me getting my way if aldi does not comply with my informal complaint initially ? Would County Council have enough power to influence Aldi's loading/unloading operations ?

volchitsa

Obviously Aldi have to stock up before they open, so there's going to be a limit to how late they can arrive, but maybe you could ask them to change their order of delivery to their various shops, so your place would be one of the last on the list?

Not sure how useful the official complaint method would be at this stage - presumably the question of noise should have been dealt with at the planning stage so it's possibly a bit difficult to come back to it now. (Disclaimer : I know nothing about planning permission for businesses, except that it exists.)

ohnonotgmail

volchitsa wrote: »

Obviously Aldi have to stock up before they open, so there's going to be a limit to how late they can arrive, but maybe you could ask them to change their order of delivery to their various shops, so your place would be one of the last on the list?

Not sure how useful the official complaint method would be at this stage - presumably the question of noise should have been dealt with at the planning stage so it's possibly a bit difficult to come back to it now. (Disclaimer : I know nothing about planning permission for businesses, except that it exists.)

it would be but the council could confirm if aldi are complying with their planning permission.

StefanSage

I'd really like to know Who in their right mind looked at the stock loading schedule for an aldi store in a built up area with apartment blocks literally across the road and thought that 5AM is a good time to load up the shop.

Atlantic Dawn

Your options were...
Object at the planning stage to it being opened in the first place

Your options are...
Get double/triple glazed windows, either pay for them yourself or see if Aldi will contribute (unlikely)

Mr. Incognito

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

Your options were...
Object at the planning stage to it being opened in the first place

Your options are...
Get double/triple glazed windows, either pay for them yourself or see if Aldi will contribute (unlikely)

Well- no if they are in breach of planning you can bring a Section 160 injunction to restrain the breach

groovyg

Are you renting there OP? One of my friends had a similar problem with a Lidl store in Dublin. Over the store is a block of apartments - he moved into a what seemed like a lovely apartment and suffered a year of no sleep because of the loading trucks at night. Moved out after a year even told prospective tenants why he was leaving and they didn't believe him as the noise during the day was just traffic and wasn't that bad but every night they were woken to the sound of the unloading right under their bedroom. I am not sure if there is much you can do.

Senna

I think all stores might get deliveries around that time, I remember hearing that deliverys arrive very early (before 6.30am) so that the shop is stocked and ready to go at 8am.
Is it a few lorries or just one lorry that does a huge delivery?

Quackster

First thing you should do is get a copy of the planning file for this store - it may be available on the council's website - and checking if there are any conditions relating to noise attached to the permission that they could be in breach of.

StefanSage

groovyg wrote: »

Are you renting there OP? One of my friends had a similar problem with a Lidl store in Dublin. Over the store is a block of apartments - he moved into a what seemed like a lovely apartment and suffered a year of no sleep because of the loading trucks at night. Moved out after a year even told prospective tenants why he was leaving and they didn't believe him as the noise during the day was just traffic and wasn't that bad but every night they were woken to the sound of the unloading right under their bedroom. I am not sure if there is much you can do.

Yes I am luckily only renting here. But that is very disheartening to read about your friends putting up with such breach of their right to peace and quiet for a full year. I however am going to throw everything I've got at Aldi in order to preserve my right to peaceful life in my dwelling.

Which brings me to my next questions. If all my attempts fail, would I be able to terminate my tenancy agreement based on the above case without losing my security deposit ?

StefanSage

Senna wrote: »

I think all stores might get deliveries around that time, I remember hearing that deliverys arrive very early (before 6.30am) so that the shop is stocked and ready to go at 8am.
Is it a few lorries or just one lorry that does a huge delivery?

It's one or two massive trucks. and it's not 6:30 AM. It's actually 5:00 AM.

Bobthefireman

I used to work for a similar store. There is likely to be a condition of pp that deliveries only occur between specific times. Address complaint to transport manager in first instance. Also to council.
It will be taken seriously.
I had to draft response to council for similar breach.
Problem was the drivers not being aware of restrictions.
Problem was immediately acted on by similar store and dealt with by senior management

Quackster

I presume this is the store: www.eplanning.ie/WaterfordCCC/AppFileRefDetails/03500403/0

The planning application documents aren't available online so you'll have to contact the council's planning office to request paper copies, quoting the planning reference number 03500403.

bumblebeemouth

We have had a similar problem with a Lidl that was built bedside us for nearly 10 years now. Their planning permission allows them do what they want whenever they want but after years of phone calls and emails we got them to stop delivering at unreasonable hours. The noise that occurs every day during deliveries is still a pain though.

We objected to the planning many times on the grounds of noise but they got their way eventually after repeated applications.

I had similar experience with a smaller retailer.... I told them if the noise continued I would be contacting the local authority and/or the EPA with my concerns.

StefanSage

Augeo wrote: »

I had similar experience with a smaller retailer.... I told them if the noise continued I would be contacting the local authority and/or the EPA with my concerns.

How did that go ? What was the outcome ?

The Jman

If enough complaints went in from the local area I'm sure they would consider changing delivery times for fear of losing business. Like someone said they could try changing the route around so delivery to the built up areas could be at a later time or even take in the delivery the night before so there would be no noise complaints from the locals.

StefanSage

StefanSage wrote: »

How did that go ? What was the outcome ?

They said grand, no further noise.

StefanSage

Here's the update :

Went over to aldi and asked to speak to the manager. Gave him my story after which he explained that the issue I had with the noise was a once off only and that he gave out to the truck driver in the morning for landing so early. Told me that it's against the law for trucks to load so early in a built up area.

He sounded reassuring, so I took his word but I have everything on record now, his name , time and what he told me.

Hopefully that will be the last of it.

Wanderer78

hopefully thats the end of it but do persist with this if needs be. best of luck with it

WindomEarle

StefanSage wrote: »

Here's the update :

Went over to aldi and asked to speak to the manager. Gave him my story after which he explained that the issue I had with the noise was a once off only and that he gave out to the truck driver in the morning for landing so early. Told me that it's against the law for trucks to load so early in a built up area.

He sounded reassuring, so I took his word but I have everything on record now, his name , time and what he told me.

Hopefully that will be the last of it.

That's a good outcome, Stefan. I'm not sure that all the posts about the planning permission are right.

Noise nuisance laws don't depend on planning permission, as far as I know. You have a reasonable expectation to being able to sleep through the night with this kind of disturbance.

If you do find the problem is ongoing, you can take a noise pollution case in the District Court - google for it on the housing dot gov dot ie site.

Bobthefireman

If you get no resolution there will be a central office hq and address complaint to the transport manager there