A neighbour has expressed desperation at their dream home turning into a nightmare in Reading town centre due to noise coming from a nearby Tesco store.
Nikola Taseski purchased her flat in Cheapside in July in what was meant to be a dream move.
But shortly after receiving the keys, she became disturbed by the ‘deafening noise’ coming from refrigeration plant equipment of the Tesco Express opposite Broad Street Mall.
Just under a fortnight after moving, she felt compelled to complain about the disturbance.
She said: “What was supposed to be one of the happiest, most exciting milestones of my life quickly turned into an unmitigated nightmare of continuous, deafening noise and severe sleep deprivation caused by Tesco’s commercial HVAC alley plant equipment.
“I personally spoke with the Tesco store manager to report the intolerable noise. Management promised it would be resolved urgently, but absolutely nothing was done.
A council environmental health officer inspected my flat. They found the sound level meter sat at a deafening 80.8 decibels (dBA) in the service alley, 70.6 dBA outside my building and 57.4 dBA in my bedroom.
“I personally emailed Tesco CEO and Customer Service and again absolutely nothing has been done.”
Following that visit in August, the council delivered a Section 80 Noise Abatement Notice directly to the store manager.
Ms Taseki continued: “Condition 4 of the store’s planning permission caps day-time noise at 42 dBA and night-time plant noise at 31 dBA.
“Continuous levels hovering 24/7 around 80 dBA represent thousands of times more acoustic energy than their permitted legal night limit!
“Despite empty verbal promises weeks ago and now receiving a hand-delivered legal notice from the council, Tesco continues to run this faulty plant equipment at full volume throughout the night.
“The council’s 21-day notice period leaves me trapped with 57.4 dBA blasting into my bedroom every single night while Tesco delays implementing a simple overnight shut-off.”
A council spokesperson confirmed that the noise notice has been issued, which must be complied with within days if Tesco wishes to avoid enforcement action.
They said: “The council has every sympathy with this resident who has endured unacceptable noise levels as a result of this activity.
“We can confirm a Noise Abatement notice was issued by a council on Tesco for the machinery plant associated with this Tesco Express Store, which requires Tesco to take remedial action.
“In these circumstances, timescales for compliance must be reasonable or they could be challenged which would further delay a resolution.
“In this case a compliance date has been set for Friday, August 28, at which point the council will consider if any further action is required.”
For its part, a Tesco spokesperson stated that action is being taken to rectify the issue.
They said: “We always strive to be good neighbours and work hard to minimise any disruption within the communities we serve.
“Our maintenance teams are currently carrying out a range of works at the store to further reduce the noise from its refrigeration system.”
