Aldi plots 20,000 sq ft Accrington upgrade

The expanding supermarket group wants to replace its existing store with a larger new-build on Hyndburn Road, close to the town’s Asda.

Aldi is working with Lancashire property group Barnfield Developments on the project, which is designed by The Harris Partnership. Plans have been lodged with Hyndburn Council.

Typically for Aldi, the new building will be around 20,000 sq ft with a sales floor area of around 14,000 sq ft. The site is 1.9 acres and once developed would include 112 parking spaces.

The retailer regards its existing local store on Argyle Road as no longer fit for purpose and will close it once it is replaced.

The site it has chosen is brownfield, formerly housing terraced homes, and sits close to Steiner Street, across Hyndburn Road from the larger-format Asda, a supermarket group now in the control of Lancashire’s Issa brothers.

Aldi’s store will be accessed from that main road, which is the key route into Accrington from the M65. Lidl is also in the area, along with McDonald’s, Screwfix, Matalan and Vue.

The proposals have been warmly welcomed by some councillors who speak of the plot as a problem site for fly-tipping.

According to planning documents, pre-application advice from the council suggests that as the proposal relates to a town centre use in an out of centre location a sequential test will be required.

In a general sense, the council feedback suggests that the modern Aldi style would “result in an attractive scheme for the plot which would not be at odds with the surrounding area”.

A retail statement prepared by Planning Potential includes a sequential test, concluding that of nine sites in the area it has examined, none are suitable for the type and scale of development planned.

Existing vacant units are generally too small, while the town centre itself is compact and constrained in planning terms, referring to factors such as sites of historical importance.

The project is just one of several advancing across the region as the retailer continues an expansion phase that includes a 55-strong spate of North West openings.

Plans approved last week in Liverpool saw close to 200 letters of support in advance, while stores in Widnes and Preston have also secured consent this year.