The supermarket’s night-time deliveries get thumbs-up from council

Supermarket chain Sainsbury’s claims its recent trial of night-time deliveries has proved successful and could be replicated elsewhere in the UK.

The three-month pilot took place late last year in Wandsworth, and involved rescheduling two early morning deliveries to the south-west London store to 1.30am and 3.30am respectively, using a vehicle with a variety of noise-reducing measures.

The licence to carry out night deliveries has been extended and the firm is now able to deliver with two vehicles at night, cutting costs and saving time.

A Sainsbury’s spokesman says: “We worked closely with the Wandsworth Noise Abatement Society and the local council.

“The trial was very successful and it demonstrated what can be achieved when we work together. We received no complaints either directly at the store, via the Noise Abatement Society helpline, which was publicised, nor directly to the council – this was the real measure of success.

“We are already working with other councils and are looking to see how we can spread what we have learnt from this trial to other stores.”

Stephen Kelly, Freight Transport Association spokesman, says other authorities and firms looking to implement similar schemes can use the Wandsworth trial as an example of best practice. He adds: “The early indications are that deliveries took much less time than normal, leading to significant savings in both man-hours and fuel consumption. It has gone very well and shows how effective partnership working can be.

"The trial has seen reduced congestion in peak times, reduced noise and emissions, and has received no complaints from local residents.”

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