DISTRESSED residents have complained about construction work at a supermarkt going on late into the night.

People living near Sainsbury's in Blackpole were subjected to the sound of heavy machinery working until 11pm on Sunday, June 23.

Councillors for Warndon and Elbury Park were surprised to receive complaints, Cllr Jill Desayrah explained: "I haven't received any information about this work and was only informed about it late last night."

The work is part of the store's plans to install new eco-friendly equipment. 

But residents were not made aware of work happening that evening. 

Cllr Ed Kimberley, fellow councillor for Warndon and Elbury Park, said: "Sadly this is not the first time that Warndon residents have faced down a cavalier approach to construction work."

In February 2024, resurfacing in Elgar Retail Park kept residents awake for four days as the car park was resurfaced.

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Cllr Kimberley continued: "Companies have clearly learnt that the law on noise pollution is lax, and are taking full advantage of night-time hours to speed ahead with work so they can open their doors to trade that much sooner. But it is have an unacceptable effect on our residents lives.

"Last night I was contacted by a family who had been left unable to open their windows, with their children unable to sleep in the week they were sitting crucial exams."

A spokesperson for Sainsbury's said: "We can confirm we carried out some work in the car park of our Blackpole store at the start of the week, which ended up taking longer to complete than we expected.

"Our store has since been in touch with our neighbours to apologise and we will ensure we provide notice of any similar works in the future."