NIGHT curfews on delivery lorries may be reduced or scrapped under new government guidelines designed to reduce congestion and pollution during the day.

Ministers believe that thousands of lorries would be removed from the roads in peak periods if local authorities allowed supermarkets and other retailers to receive deliveries from 5am. The proposals will be fiercely resisted, however, by residents concerned about being woken up by noise.

More than 40 per cent of supermarkets are subject to curfews, usually from 10pm to 7am. Many were imposed more than 20 years ago and have not been reviewed since. Asda is expected to be the first supermarket chain to use the guidance to challenge curfews.

The Department for Transport’s guidance states: “There may be circumstances where the public can still be protected even if delivery curfews are reduced by a couple of hours. Such flexibility has the potential to benefit local people through reduced congestion at peak times and reduced pollution. It could also benefit the industry by making journeys and delivery times more reliable.”

The guidance tells local authorities that they should relax curfews if “night time/early am deliveries are desirable for the business (and) noise and light will not disturb neighbours as a result”. It encourages authorities to consider that modern lorries are much quieter.

The Freight Transport Association (FTA) argues that lifting curfews would not only reduce congestion and pollution but also improve road safety by removing lorries from the roads during the school run. There would also be fewer lorries overall because they would operate more efficiently as each driver will be able to make more deliveries.

A survey in 2002 by ten big retailers, including Sainsbury, Marks & Spencer and Tesco, found that if half the curfews were lifted they would be able to retire 630 lorries, or 10 per cent of their fleets. The total distance travelled would fall by 63 million miles, saving 36 million litres of fuel and preventing 96,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.

The British Retail Consortium reported last year that its members would save £30 million a year if curfews were relaxed by one to two hours.

The freight industry has drawn up a new “good neighbour” code of practice aimed at ensuring that night deliveries are as quiet as possible. Retailers and delivery companies will commit to abide by the code in return for any relaxation of the restrictions.

Under the code, lorry operators must fit cut-out switches for reversing alarms, air-brake silencers and low-noise wheels on roll cages. The cab radio must also switch off automatically when doors open.

Retailers must agree to fix all loose inspection and drain covers to prevent rattling and install rubber mats and acoustic fencing.

Lawrence Christensen, head of Sainsbury convenience stores, said: “Motorways would be much clearer during the day if we were able to deliver at night. Lifting curfews would be particularly helpful to convenience stores because more of them are in congested town centres, but we recognise this will not work unless we are considerate about noise.”

The FTA said that many parts of the economy had moved to 24-hour operation since the curfews were imposed.

Many supermarkets are open to shoppers arriving by car during the night but cannot receive lorries.

James Hookham, its deputy chief executive, said: “We are not looking for a total abolition of these restrictions.

“However, attitudes have changed and we feel that there is a positive case for greater flexibility. Changing customer and commercial needs in the 21st century require more flexibility.”

The Noise Abatement Society said that it supported the lifting of curfews if companies abided by the code. It has agreed to monitor a trial of night deliveries to four supermarkets in Doncaster and urged lorry operators to invest in much quieter refrigeration systems that run on liquid nitrogen.

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12 per cent of freight is carried by rail compared with 23 per cent in Germany

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