Greenwich (Parliament Politics Magazine) – A Greenwich resident claims a faulty alarm at a nearby Aldi store disrupts sleep, sounding like a “siren” and going off repeatedly, sparking noise concerns.
Eve Peacock, a resident of Serica Court for the past three years, said that repeated disturbances at the Aldi Shop and Go store across the street on Greenwich High Road keep her up at night.
“It goes off at 11:30pm and 5am, waking me up every time, despite having a noise meter installed in my flat,”
Eve said.
How did the Aldi store spokesperson respond to this complaint?
According to an Aldi spokesperson, the security firm that runs the alarm system is “in the process” of resolving a technical problem that is causing the alarm to go off “unnecessarily” on occasion.
The spokesperson added: “Aldi apologises for any potential disruption this may have caused to the local community.”
Eve reports that the alarm began to go off “every night” for three weeks in December 2023, which is when she first saw it.
She said:
“It starts at around 11pm and doesn’t stop until their delivery van arrives – it sounds like a siren.
The council did come out and hear it, but it’s still gone off intermittently since then – Christmas, January, and again on February 5 and 6.”
How is Greenwich Council addressing Aldi’s noise complaints?
According to Greenwich Council’s Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Enforcement, Cllr Rachel Taggart-Ryan, the council has “provided guidance” on best standards for delivery drivers and store management to Aldi on Greenwich High Road.
She added:
“Our advice to any residents who are affected by noise is to call our team on 020 8921 8921 at the time the noise is taking place. This allows officers the opportunity to visit, gather evidence, and consider appropriate action.
Officers are available between the hours of 8am and 5pm Monday to Wednesday, and from 8am to 2am the following morning, Thursday to Sunday.”
Eve also voiced concerns about the Aldi store’s early morning deliveries.
She shared: “I moved in March 2023, and at that point, they changed the deliveries to 5am.
I couldn’t believe there was all this racket, and nobody was doing anything about it—it literally goes on for two hours.
They park on the road, load everything onto trolleys, then wheel it over the cobblestones up to the store.
But it’s strange because in the last 10 days or so, they’ve started pulling in and parking there. They’ve shifted to a later time, and now they park in the car park. That’s a massive improvement compared to what it used to be.”
All delivery drivers have been told to use the parking lot and deliver through a side door to the shop in order to “minimize noise and disruption for local residents,” according to an Aldi representative.
The spokesperson added that there are restrictions at the Greenwich store that mean no deliveries can be made between 11pm and 5am.