Morrisons launch home delivery service... but they won't go south of the river

 
Home delivery: the struggling supermarket is desperate to catch up with its rivals who already offer home delivery

South Londoners have long struggled to persuade cabbies to drive them to their side of the river.

Now a supermarket chain has added to the Thames divide by declaring it will deliver groceries “north of the river only”.

Morrisons launched its home delivery service with the policy today, years after rivals Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Asda, following a £210million Ocado tie-up.

Orders can be made by two million households within the M25 — but the company’s vans will not be allowed to cross to the likes of Clapham, Tooting or Balham until 2015 at the earliest.

Sara Waller, left: 'I use Ocado anyway'

Bosses insisted they had never made it clear whether the launch would cover the whole of London or just parts.

They said they were keen to get deliveries right in north London first, after opening a distribution hub in Enfield.

But south London residents said Morrisons was treating them as if they lived in a remote or rough area.

Isla Shaw: I can see people boycotting the chain over this

Charity worker Fran Lawton, 33, said: “In rural areas, I can imagine the costs are higher for distribution, but we’re in south London. If they can deliver to the rest of the city, then why not us?”

Theatre designer Isla Shaw, 38, from Clapham, mother of seven-month-old Scarlett, added: “I can see people boycotting the chain over this.”

Morrisons has several supermarkets in south London, including stores in Wimbledon and Streatham.

Antonia Stewart, 31, who works in television, said they would still miss out as many only shop on the web.

She said she had done all her shopping online since her three-month-old daughter Lumen was born.

Antonia Stewart: 'Stigma around south London is still there'

“If a shop does not do home delivery, I will not use it,” she added. “With all the mums in south London, Morrisons are missing out. I think the stigma around south London is still there.”

But Richard Kerrigan, 35, a film producer, and Sherona Parkinson, 31, who works for a charity, said the decision could benefit the South: “It’s smart to make sure the delivery system works before it’s rolled out across London and everywhere else.”

Mothers Sara Waller, 38, and Rebecca Gepp, 34, said the decision was “strange” but questioned whether they would shop at Morrisons, with Sara adding: “I use Ocado anyway.”

Simon Thompson, managing director of Morrisons.com, said: “We’ve operated a phased roll-out across the country with a view to covering 50 per cent of households before the end of the year — our arrival in London is no different.

“We’re planning to extend the Morrisons.com service into south London next year and we continue to review upcoming activity for 2015.”

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