Residents say HGV noise in Neston are giving them sleepless nights

Jul 8 2009 By Sam Christie

SUPERMARKET suppliers have been accused of turning Neston into a car park for their wagons.

A dispute has broken out between residents and businesses and over HGVs travelling to the Aldi distribution centre on the former Marconi site on the Chester High Road.

People living nearby say HGVs park on pavements and fridge units run day and night, resulting in a continuous humming sound which has caused sleepless nights.

And owners of firms on the Clayhill Light Industrial say lorries park on the site for days on end, damaging roads and disrupting business.

Aldi disputes the claims and says it has been in contact with Cheshire West and Chester Council, and any residents who have contacted the company.

Roger Lightfoot, co-owner of a car maintenance company on the industrial estate, said he had to pay £4,500 to repair the forecourt after it was damaged by HGVs.

He said: "The wagons use our site as a car park at night and make a right mess. It has cost me a lot of money.

Mr Lightfoot, who has worked on the estate for 26 years, said the HGVs have also knocked down two streetlights and a wall, which are yet to be replaced.

Fiona Sharp, office manager of NBS Sports Leisure, said: "Sometimes there are three or four lorries parked on our site which don’t leave for two or three days.

"The road next to their depot is around a quarter of a mile long but they don’t park there. They clutter up the roads around the depot and it restricts the flow of traffic."

A resident living on The Runnell, who asked to be identified only as Mark, has sent a series of e-mails to Aldi and the council complaining about the HGVs.

He said: "We are sick of this ongoing issue disturbing our lives and affecting our work due to lack of sleep."

Bob Hindhaugh, Cheshire West and Chester Council’s area traffic engineer, said: "We want to assist him but we need evidence that there has been a noise disturbance.

"Without this we can’t act as this would be against the regulations contravening the law."

Andrew Miller, MP for Ellesmere Port and Neston, said:"I would like to see a noise detector within the houses that are affected. "If noise is proved to be a nuisance then I would hope the local authority would use its powers to enforce parking restrictions."in the affected areas."