SHUTTERS were dropped, trolleys rattled and gates slammed at an inquiry to see whether a Worle supermarket should be allowed extended delivery hours.

SHUTTERS were dropped, trolleys rattled and gates slammed at an inquiry to see whether a Worle supermarket should be allowed extended delivery hours.

A site visit to Sainsbury's in Queens Way was the last part of an inquiry held to make a final judgement on the matter.

Planning inspector Edward Simpson went to the store to find out how much noise is made by the equipment used in the delivery yard after complaints from nearby residents.

The inquiry comes after two applications to extend delivery hours were rejected by North Somerset Council.

Sainsbury bosses appealed the decisions and the current application is for a delivery to be allowed between 5-6.30am from Monday-Saturday and for four-six deliveries to be permitted on Sundays and bank holidays.

Store manager Richard Treharne said: "Our customers now expect to be able to buy fresh goods such as bread, vegetables and meat on a Sunday, just like they can through the rest of the week."

Residents have objected to the plans due to the extra noise they would have to endure if goods were delivered on Sundays and earlier in the mornings.

One resident, whose house is directly behind the yard, attended the site visit on February 13.

She said: "I hear a lot of noise coming from the yard late into the night, even though deliveries are not meant to arrive after 10pm.

"Some of the loud bangs vibrate around my whole house. It is not very nice when you are trying to sleep at night."

In a letter written to the Weston & Somerset Mercury, Norman Punter, a resident who lives near to the store, says the growth of it over the years should have been compensated by modernising the delivery yard, which has noisy, chain-operated shutter doors

He wrote: "If the officials of Sainsbury's were to spend less money on applications and more on measures to reduce noise there would be no need for our complaints."

Store manager Richard Treharne said: "No matter what happens in terms of the extended delivery hours it is clear we need to work to rectify the problems raised by residents."

The inquiry was closed at the end of the site visit and a decision on the extension of delivery hours has not yet been made.