Aldi Plans Still Undecided After A Year

Aldi's planning application to build a store in Gascoyne Way has still not been determined by the District Council, despite the proposals being submitted over a year ago.

The plans for a store with 1,254 sqm net sales area and 127 parking spaces were submitted on 30th June 2017.

Planning applications are supposed to be determined within a specific timeframe. For large or complex applications the time limit is 13 weeks. After this time an applicant is entitled to lodge a complaint with The Planning Inspectorate, who will then make a decision, although this procress in itself can be lengthy.

In a public consultation by the store, 76% of respondents supported the proposals.

Commenting on the delay, a council spokesperson said: "The planning  application proposes the building of a new retail store ( Use Class A1)   on a site that is currently zoned for employment uses ( Use classes B1, B2 and B8)."

"This meant that the council has needed to procure specialists to assess the retail impact of the proposal and to assess the existing and future economic  prospects for the site as well as to consider objections raised by the Environment Agency on  flooding issues."

"This has resulted in a delay to the planning application reaching the committee stage. We have been working with the  applicant to  conclude outstanding issues and hope to be in a position to determine this application shortly."

Update 23/7/18: Following this news item,  the District Council published a planning officer's report that recommended granting planning permission for the Aldi store. The Development Control Committee formally approved planning permission at their meeting on Thursday 18th July 2018.