Food delivery drivers have been banned from entering a luxury block of flats in London after concerns they might be “undocumented”. Riders from Dilveroo, Uber Eats, and Just Eat can no longer go inside the the Canary Riverside complex in Canary Wharf, not far from recent protests against an asylum seeker hotel in the area.
Housing development management company Parkgate Aspen sent a “security notice” to hundreds of residents following the “appropriation of the nearby Britannia hotel for migrant housing and the resultant unrest”. The notice cited reports claiming that some food delivery drivers did not have the correct documentation to work in the country. It added: “[We’ve been] finalising plans to restrict them from entering the blocks as they cannot be allowed to roam around for delivery to individual flats.
“With this new situation arising just a five-minute walk from your estate, this needs to be implemented immediately.”
Security and concierge staff now cannot allow entry to “riders from Deliveroo, Just Eat, Uber Eats and the like”, but grocery deliveries such as Ocado and Tesco are allowed at residents’ discretion.
Deliveroo, Just Eat, and Uber Eats all denied employing undocumented staff, saying they have robust checks and a zero-tolerance policy for illegal workers.
Parkgate Aspen said the response to the ban has been mainly positive, though there was some concern over the “arbitrary ban” that does not affect other visitors.
A resident said: “I think it illustrates the pernicious knock-on effects of this anti-asylum seeker hysteria and how easy it is for authoritarians to seize upon provocations to ramp up tensions.”
A spokesperson for the company said the plan had been in the works for months, with discussions beginning in January after reports of bad behaviour from riders.
They told the Guardian: “The Britannia story prompted many residents to request heightened security, to which we responded by fast-tracking the new arrangements.
Grocery deliveries are still allowed because those companies keep an “audit trail” of every negative incident, and have better training and monitoring processes, the spokesperson said.
They added: “This is not the case with food delivery drivers, many of whom are undocumented and on ‘sublet’ from the riders registered with the delivery companies.”
