PLANNING committee members at Darlington Council expressed their unease at being "had by the short and curlies" by Aldi supermarket.

The committee met today (Wednesday, March 2) to approve a variation to the delivery hours of the Aldi store on Yarm Road, Darlington.

The supermarket sought to extend the hours by an hour earlier on Monday to Saturday and to include some Sunday deliveries after it emerged that it had already been conducting deliveries for at least 20-years outside of its permitted times.

The planning committee had rejected a previous variation application by Aldi, prompting the supermarket to appeal.

Aldi is also applying for a certificate of lawful use which could lead to the supermarket gaining unrestricted delivery hours if successful.

The council’s principal planning officer Dave Coates said that approving the variation application would at least afford the council some control and committee chair Paul Baldwin admitted they were “between a rock and a hard place”.

Simon Plumb, property director for Aldi, assured the committee that employees would adhere to the new restrictions, saying it was “a genuine mistake” that deliveries had taken place outside permitted times for so long.

He added: “It is only when it was brought to our attention more recently it was looked into and we held our hands up and said ‘yes we made an error’, and this is part of that process of trying to rectify a situation, taking on board all the feedback that we have.”

Ward councillor Ian Haszeldine spoke passionately for neighbours of the supermarket, saying that Aldi's deliveries had caused them "nothing but problems".

He added: “They (Aldi) have broken their terms and conditions time and time again since 1993 and they say here they can guarantee it won’t happen again; sorry, I don’t believe it.”

An unhappy Cllr Gerald Lee said: “I vote for it simply because they have got us by the short and curlies and I totally object to the way they have gone on.”

Cllr Bill Stenson accused Aldi of being "lackadaisical" about its responsibilities to nearby residents, adding: “It is something that the planning committee should think about in the future in putting these stores right where people live, it is time we got that through our thick heads.”

Cllr Baldwin sought - and was given – assurances by Mr Plumb that Aldi would adhere to the new delivery hours and withdraw its appeals.