A councillor has blasted a plan concerning deliveries to a controversial proposed Aldi store in Slaithwaite.
Colne Valley Liberal Democrat Nicola Turner said that decisions involving planning conditions for the site needed to be heard in a public forum to ensure the community’s voice was heard.
She said that the current proposed delivery plan would cause havoc in not only the village but the wider area, after a document revealed that the store planned to make lorries wait on Manchester Road and use a worker to close Britannia Road to allow lorries to enter.
Aldi was given the go ahead to build on the former Colne Mills site in January, on the condition that it satisfied several planning conditions.
This was despite residents’ and local politicians’ concerns over the scheme, which included accessibility via the narrow entrance on the road and public safety.
Under the current conditions, lorry drivers will have to stop on Manchester Road and ring through to the store to check that Britannia road is clear.
A worker from the store will then place traffic cones along the road outside the store entrance to stop traffic until the lorry has entered the site and will then navigate the lorry through the car park to the delivery point.
It also suggests that the deliveries “aim to take place during the quietest parts of the day” whenever possible and that 16-metre 40-tonne lorries will be used.
At present the conditions will not be considered by Kirklees Council’s planning sub-committee after its chairman Cliff Preest ruled that the application had received considerable debate.
Clr Turner said: “These conditions will cause chaos on the streets of Slaithwaite and I’ll be fuming.
“They will have a massive impact for those who live in the village and travel through it so I think it’s really important that they are discussed in a public forum where their points of view can be heard.
“The job of a democratically-elected councillor is to give people their democratic right to be heard by elected members.
“It is ridiculous to suggest that lorries should wait and bring traffic to a standstill in Slaithwaite’s centre and this proposal will extend traffic problems to Manchester Road which is absurd.
“I also think that the size of the lorries is far too big for Slaithwaite’s narrow streets.
“It’s just going to be a nightmare that could endanger public safety as well as really impact on efforts to bring more tourism to the area.
“They should never have allowed the scheme to be passed in the first place.”
Clr Preest declined to comment.
An Aldi spokesman said traffic flow and pedestrian health and safety had been discussed in depth during the planning application and that they would fully adhere to all delivery conditions.
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