24-hour P&O annoys locals
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• Operating restrictions were placed on P&O Distribution in Avonmouth after residents complained about the noise and dust from the local depot.
At a public inquiry in Bristol, Traffic Commissioner Air ViceMarshal Ronald Ashford said P&O had been authorised to operate 28 vehicles and 42 trailers from the depot in St Brendans Way since 1992. In October 1994 the company won a contract requiring them to work 24 hours a day from Avonmouth, and that had led to the complaints. For P&O, Stephen Kirkbright said there was an extensive warehousing operation on the site, with 90 to 120 vehicles movements every day. He added that the company was aware of the effect on residents, and was willing to close off a side road which had caused dust and noise problems when used to access the trailer park.
Kirkbirght said that an interim licence had just been granted for a second site at Gloucester Road, Avonmouth. Vehicles on a contract with Imperial Tobacco would be moving there for loading and unloading which would help to alleviate the problern. Residents claimed that P&O was running a daily operation without any respite and asked for a six-day working week with no night trunking close to their horms. They also wanted a soundproof barrier between their homes and P&O in order to help them get a good night's sleep.
The company's operations director south, Timothy Peet, said steps had been taken to limit noise at the site to within normal working hours.
He added that if restrictive conditions were placed on the licence, it was likely that the whole operation at St Brendans Way would be sub-contracted, leading to less control over the company's own vehicles.
Ashford said he was satisfied that the depot was blighting the environment but was precluded from imposing restrictions that would seriously injure P&O's business.
He banned authorised vehicles from using the roadway next to residential properties and said the use of the top end of the warehouse for parking and loading should stop after September.