The Lidl store in Clonsilla has been accused of breaching the Grant of Permission for its site after local residents raised concerns about out-of-hours deliveries.
Residents of the nearby Portersgate and Castlefield housing estate say that the Lidl branch has received deliveries as late as midnight and as early as 4am, disturbing their sleep in the process.
The store, which first opened three years ago, was granted planning permission on the condition that it only received deliveries between 8am and 11am from Monday to Saturday, and between 10am and 12pm on Sundays and Bank Holidays.
However, local residents say the store is breaching this condition on a regular basis.
Independent councillor for the area Tania Doyle said local residents have consistently raised the issue with no satisfactory response.
“Deliveries are coming in at 4 and 5am every morning and sometimes 11pm or midnight,” she said.
“Residents are going mad, the delivery trucks are noisy and the clattering of trolleys and other items does often lead to residents right beside the store having their sleep broken.
“This has been going on for two years now and despite the efforts of Fingal County Council, doesn’t appear to be getting better.”
Doyle says that Lidl could receive deliveries outside of the agreed times but only “if confirmed in writing with the planning authority.
“I am not aware of any such permitted deviations,” she said.
“To date in excess of 30 deliveries have been made outside of these hours mostly around five o’clock every morning.
“The Grant of Permissions stipulates that the condition is applied “to protect the residential amenity of the area”.
“This store is located just 50 metres from the residential community of Castlefield Court,” Doyle says.
“Residents are now exasperated submitting complaint forms to the planning authority and have become disillusioned with the statutory process.
“I have raised the issue with Fingal County Council on numerous of occasions, yet Lidl continue to flout their legal obligation.”
The Ongar representative says that Lidl’s “legal obligation and adherence to legal obligation is not a choice.
“Lidl brings employment to the area and they provide a valuable service to the community.
“However, let’s be straight here, Lidl make substantial profits at this store, they wouldn’t be here of they did not.
They have a legal obligation to comply with their planning permission but they have a moral obligation to respect the residents of the community within which they are located.”
In response to the claims, a Lidl spokesperson told Northside People that the issue was “investigated thoroughly and the Lidl trucks were found to not be breaching any delivery times.
“What has transpired was that fresh bread deliveries from a supplier, which are separate to centralized Lidl deliveries, were in fact the ones delivering outside of the agreed times.
“This was rectified a number of weeks ago and we have had no reports of breaches since then, so the issue has been resolved.”