CENTRAL Government has advised all councils to make sure planning controls are not a barrier to essential deliveries during the COVID-19 outbreak.
This means Redditch Borough Council will temporarily relax restrictions on night-time and early morning deliveries to retailers of food, sanitary and other essential items.
The council will not be enforcing restrictions on timing of deliveries until the end of May when the measure will be reviewed and a decision will be made on whether or not to extend the new policy.
The move is expected to provide the retailers with greater flexibility and help minimise disruption to supply chains.
And it is hoped that it will help supermarkets and other shops to minimise disruption to their supply chains on which communities depend.
The Council is encouraging shops to maintain normal delivery hours where possible.
It is considered that the interests of residents in having essential supplies in shops outweighs any temporary inconvenience that might be experienced if some deliveries are outside normal hours.
