Aldi moves St Helens store onto starting blocks

The food retailer is seeking public opinion ahead of submitting a hybrid planning application for a store off Laffak Road.

Aldi has now opened a consultation, as it looks to pursue detailed consent for a food store, alongside outline proposals for additional development opportunities within the site.

Regular partner The Harris Partnership is working with the supermarket group.

The outline elements will come forward in future under individual reserved matters applications. Typically, occupiers for such facilities are drive-thru concessions of coffee brands such as Costa, or other takeaway operators.

The brownfield site is located south of the East Lancs Road, and is currently home to a vacant petrol station, disused buildings and a pallet recycling facility.

Aldi’s proposals include realigning Laffak Road in line with the council’s development brief and reserving land for a potential future railway station.

The discounter said that with aspirations for the area’s redevelopment being “long-standing” it is pleased to help transform it, bringing much-needed investment and new amenities for the community.

Aldi and its team argue that the north of St Helens is poorly served by local foodstores, with a solitary Tesco Express the only option of scale in the locality – the nearest full-sized supermarket is around 1.5m away.

The consultation runs until 24 March and can be viewed here.