Amazon-owned Whole Foods, which opened on the King’s Road in March 2025, has been at loggerheads with residents whose homes back onto the store for more than eight months.

Residents in Elystan Place – particularly those in a block of flats called Thackeray Court that borders the entrance – say deliveries by HGVs and vans have turned their quiet one-way back street into a daily ordeal of noise, congestion and disruption.

Often, their early mornings are interrupted by loud beeping from lorries reversing at a snail’s pace towards a downward slip road that leads to the basement loading bay for the supermarket.

Whole Foods before it opened last year

“That someone hasn’t been killed is a miracle,” one resident told The Citizen. “It’s not safe. Where else in London are you seeing articulated lorries driving down tiny, narrow one-way streets?

“They are enormous. They are damaging our buildings, hitting lamp posts and mounting the pavement. The drivers often get out and leave their engines running whilst they work out how to reverse into the access point. It is ruining our lives around here. Please, someone help make it stop!”

The problems stem from the fact that deliveries cannot be made at the front of the King’s Road store because zig-zag markings protecting the nearby zebra crossing must be kept clear. Instead, lorries and delivery vans use the narrow Elystan Place to access the supermarket’s basement.

Drivers must reverse into the slip road because they cannot reverse back OUT up the slope was it is too dangerous and difficult. Vehicles automatically use reversing warning alarm beeping that residents say add to the disturbance along with idling engines, and air pollution. They say that the impact on their lives has been relentless and “an unending nightmare”. “There’s going to be a serious accident here one day and Whole Foods will be accountable,” said one despairing home owner at Thackeray Court

Road route down Elystan Place to rear entrance to Whole Foods

Among concerns raised are the safety of pedestrians and cyclists sharing the narrow street with large delivery vehicles, damage to buildings and street furniture, and items allegedly falling from lorries onto the pavement.

Residents also claim the store receives up to 30 deliveries a day, including around five by vehicles more than 10 metres long, which they say struggle to negotiate the street safely.

“No one recognised how successful the shop would be when they were agreeing the delivery schedule with the Council,” said another resident. “It’s turned out to be a gold mine – but this has meant more and more deliveries.”

Whole Foods was served with a Breach of Condition Notice by the Council on April 20th this year following alleged breaches of its Delivery and Service Management Plan, which governs how deliveries should be carried out. The 28-day compliance period expired on May 18th.

Failure to comply with the notice is a criminal offence and, if the Council concludes there is sufficient evidence, it has the power to prosecute. Any fine imposed by the courts is – in theory – unlimited.

The Breach of Condition Notice focused on three alleged failings: multiple delivery vehicles arriving at the same time and obstructing the highway, vehicles failing to reverse correctly into the service yard before unloading, and drivers wheeling pallets along the public highway.

Whole Foods insists it has responded to the Council’s concerns and said in a statement: “We take our responsibility to our neighbours seriously. We’ve been working closely with the local authority to address delivery concerns raised by nearby residents. We’ve made changes to our delivery scheduling and logistics, and we’ll continue to refine our operations. We’re committed to being a good neighbour in Chelsea.”

A RBKC Council spokesman said: “We have been meeting regularly with Whole Foods, reviewing evidence from residents, and requiring the store to take steps to improve how deliveries are managed. We are also increasing monitoring in the area and where concerns relate to dangerous driving, we will continue to liaise with the police, who are responsible for enforcing road traffic offences.”

The Council has rejected suggestions that the zebra crossing on the King’s Road could simply be moved to create more delivery space. “The zebra crossing links directly to a public space and affords access to the supermarket on foot, and it is also a parallel crossing that cyclists can use which forms part of a designated cycleway.

“It’s effectively a choice between servicing on a busy high street with pedestrians, cyclists and several bus routes, or servicing off-street within a purpose-built loading bay, so the latter is the preferred option.”

No further enforcement action has yet been taken following the Breach of Condition Notice while the Council continues discussions with all parties and monitors the situation. Whole Foods has also stationed a traffic control marshal at the rear service area to oversee deliveries and prevent vehicles arriving before 8am.

Residents, however, say they will only be satisfied when a permanent – and more peaceful – delivery solution is found.