'We live next to an Amazon car park - it's like the Blackpool illuminations'

Exhausted residents have been kept awake by the "blinding" lights of a massive and claim it's like living next to Blackpool illuminations.

Residents neighbouring the new three-tier facility - designed to accommodate the company's fleet of delivery vans - labelled it a "monstrosity" after it opened last week. They revealed they endured months of construction racket while the multi-level unit for 426 vehicles was being erected in Leyland, Lancs.

However, now the community claims their slumber is disrupted as the strong lights - attached to the enormous 50ft high storage unit - beam into their homes. One local vented: "The construction noise we have to put up with six days a week is bad enough and now we don't even get a peaceful night because we have these blindingly bright lights, it's awful."

Another chimed in: "I live across from it and one reason I chose the house I did was the field behind and how peaceful it was. Now we have this eyesore. I just don't understand how it got permission in the first place? They won't take it down but they should at least turn the lights off at night."

"My son is due in three months and his room looks over that monstrosity." A third added: "It's outrageous! People with little kids live right on the back of it, I don't know how they'll get to sleep at night.

"It is such a badly thought-out project, especially on the doorsteps of a residential area. It's like living next to Blackpool Illuminations."

The car park, situated near an that opened on Lancashire Business Park in 2015, has been built. In 2021, South Ribble Borough Council granted the company permission for the facility after it announced plans to power all its vehicles with renewable energy by 2030.

But when the car park lights were switched on for the first time on the evening of October 9, local residents were outraged by the intense beams. One homeowner, whose house is just a stone's throw away from the multi-storey, expressed shock: "I'm amazed that it got planning permission. It was always going to be a monstrosity, and now it's a very bright one!"

Another resident simply remarked: "It's bright! Surely they can't be allowed to leave these on all night!" South Ribble Council Leader Jacky Alty revealed she had requested the appropriate local authority team to investigate the matter.

She stated: "Residents have shared their concerns at the lighting and impact it is having on them and their properties. I have therefore asked the Council's Environmental Health team to investigate and see if there is anything that can be done to help local residents. During the planning process I commented on the design of the building as the local ward councillor in representing the views of my residents. It is always tricky balancing the needs of local residents and businesses."

The car park has been constructed on land close to an Amazon distribution centre, which opened on Lancashire Business Park in 2015. The firm got permission from South Ribble Borough Council for the facility in 2021 after saying it planned to power all its vehicles with renewable energy by 2030.

But on the evening of October 9, when the lights for the carpark were finally illuminated, locals living nearby were left livid at the high-powered beams.

One homeowner, whose property is just metres, from the multi-story said: "I look forward to working with local residents, the Council's Environmental Health team and the business concerned to try and come up with a solution."

An Amazon spokesperson said: "We always strive to be a good neighbour and we're looking into this."