Lidl Mottingham Road store installs six-metre lampposts over gardens
Scarlet Gibson has lived on Devonshire Road, behind Mottingham Road, for the past five years and says the new Lidl plans were originally rejected, but an inspector later approved the plans.
The new store opened last week (April 13) and has a car park which backs onto Devonshire Road.
It features an in-store bakery, a fruit and vegetables section, fresh flowers at the entrance as well as rows of self-checkout services.
Scarlet told the News Shopper: “The lampposts are a complete eyesore and stagger over my garden fence.
“Lidl has refused to do anything, and the fences do not offer any visual protection or noise reduction.
“If I took my fence down, I would be in the building site, sitting in my garden can be really overwhelming.”
A spokesperson for Lidl says it has “never been their intention” to cause “distress or dissatisfaction” during the construction of a new store and they “sincerely apologise” for any inconvenience caused.
The spokesperson added: “The store has been built in accordance with the plans approved by Bromley[1] Council and we can confirm that deliveries will only be made in smaller vehicles twice a day, as stipulated by the Local Planning Authority.”
Despite this, Scarlet claims that she saw four deliveries being done “in the space of an hour” last weekend.
She added: “It’s difficult to explain unless you live here.
“Last weekend the lights were on passed midnight and it lights up my whole house.
“The lorries are more than 12 metres long – If I am sitting in my garden, I have this huge lorry right behind my fence and it is awful.
“Even the size of the shop compared to the car park is dangerous; you’ve got lorries coming in, you’ve got a full car park and the roads are backing up – something needs to be done.”
Scarlet wants more privacy and the lampposts lowered, with something to protect neighbours from the noise.
She explained: “We just want them to consider the people living here – I bought this house and don’t want to particularly be looking at a lorry going past every day.
“It has caused my family and neighbours so much stress and anxiety that one of my neighbours has sold their house due to the build.
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“They have worked over prohibited hours and totally ruined our way of life.
“We understand that Lidl is a nice, cheap store for the local community, all we ask is for them to work with us and to see how awful it is on our side – we are neighbours, and we want to coexist, but it seems like no one cares.
A spokesperson for Lidl said: “It’s never our intention to cause distress or dissatisfaction during the construction of a new store and we sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused.
“The store has been built in accordance with the plans approved by Bromley Council and we can confirm that deliveries will only be made in smaller vehicles twice a day, as stipulated by the Local Planning Authority.
“We truly believe that the new store will greatly benefit those in the community, from the creation of jobs to providing easy and convenient access to our high-quality products available at the best value.
“The store has had a great response since opening and we’re grateful for all the support received so far.”
References
- ^ Bromley (www.thisislocallondon.co.uk)
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