Double Aldi approval in Cumbria
Cumberland Council gave the green light to the discount retailer to build stores in Whitehaven and Egremont on Wednesday – as well as the reconfiguration of the Cleator Moor Activity Centre and upgrades to Hall Park.
Read more about each of the approved projects below.
Land at East Road in Egremont
- Application reference number: 4/24/2044/0F1
A long-closed petrol filling station and vehicle repair garage is to become a supermarket, with Aldi emerging victorious from this week’s Cumberland Council planning committee meeting.
East Road Garage off East Road in Egremont closed in 2020, leaving its 1.5-acre plot vacant. Aldi will now move forward with demolishing the existing buildings, replacing them with a 20,800 sq ft discount grocery store and 86 accompanying parking spaces.
Of those 86, five would be designed as accessible, nine for parents and children, and four for electric vehicle charging. There will also be eight spaces for bikes to be stored.
Designed by Projekt Architects, the new store would have air-source heat pumps and LED lighting.
Avison Young is the planning consultant for the scheme. The project team also includes Andrew Moseley Associates, NJD Environmental, Total Ecology, All About Trees, Paul Horsley Acoustics, 3E Consulting Engineers, Projekt Construction, and Hydrock, now Stantec.
Aldi has secured planning permission to replace its Whitehaven store with a newer, larger shop. Credit: via planning documents
Land at Preston Street in Whitehaven
- Application reference number: 4/23/2314/0F1
While the store in Egremont is a new one for the area, the Whitehaven proposal was for a replacement Aldi.
The retailer said in its application that the current store, situated just 700 feet away from the future one, is outdated. Its replacement will not only be more appealing to customers, Aldi said, but bigger too.
Like in Egremont, the new Aldi would be built on brownfield land. In this case, the 2.5-acre plot was a car park.
The store would have a gross external floor area of 22,900 sq ft. It would have a car park with 100 spaces, including five designed as accessible, nine for parents and children, four for electric vehicles, and four motorcycle bays. There would also be eight short-stay bicycle storage areas.
Avison Young is the planner, with Projekt Architects leading on the design. Total Ecology, Andrew Moseley Associates, NJD Environmental, All About Trees, 3E Consulting Engineers, DTS Raeburn, and Hydrock, now Stantec round out the project team.
Hall Park in Workington
- Application reference number: FUL/2024/0188 and FUL/2024/0187
There were two applications related to Hall Park that were approved on Wednesday. One focussed on widening the Hall Brow carriageway to add on parking spaces for residents and introduce a pedestrian crossing.
The other was dedicated to improving pedestrian and cycle routes in the park and a series of public realm improvements to make the entrances to Hall Park more appealing to visitors.
“This is a strong step forwards for this project and it will enhance the area in and around Hall Park for everyone, whether they are on foot, on a bike or in a car,” said Cumberland Council executive member for sustainable, resilient, and connected places, Cllr Denis Rollo.
“Not only will the changes open up this important route through Workington, but they will make travel easier for non-road users too. Improvements to the footways and cycle routes around Workington Hall will also make a real feature of this historic asset.”
The project team includes WSP and PBA Applied Ecology.
Fixing up Hall Park’s travel infrastructure is part of Cumberland Council’s £10m Workington Gateway project. The initiative also includes changes to the junction of A66 and A596 to reduce freight times and creating a centre and café in the park.
Roberts Limbrick is the architect for the Cleator Moor Activity Centre, while Greenwood Projects is the principal designer. Credit: via Cumberland Council
Land to the rear of Wyndham Street in Cleator Moor
- Application reference number: 4/24/2089/0F1
The Cleator Moor Activity Centre will be reconfigured to accommodate more sports while also receiving a 7,500 sq ft extension, according to the council’s own plans for the space.
Roberts Limbrick is the architect for the project, with Greenwood Projects down as the principal designer. Alliance Leisure is the council’s delivery partner for the scheme.
The changes to the activity centre include the addition of a multipurpose studio, fitness suite, and community café. There would also be a small track added outside.
At the moment, the activity centre is dominated by bowlers. The goal is for the changes to increase the use of the space by those playing other sports such as badminton, basketball, netball, volleyball, and five-a-side.
Those travelling by car will be able to access the activity centre from the corner of Quarry Road and Wyndham Street. The parking provision for the centre will also increase by 38, allowing 49 vehicles to park.
The project team for the centre revamp includes project manager Cohesion Consult, structural and civil engineer Furness Partnership, MEP specialist CGP | MEP, and quantity surveyor Press & Starkey.
