Aldi tipped for Liverpool green light
A former tea factory site in Speke will house a 20,000 sq ft supermarket, along with employment space, a filling station and a drive-thru restaurant should approval be given next week.
The 5.9-acre site, now cleared of all buildings, sits next to the Ansa Logistics site at the junction of Speke Boulevard and Speke Hall Road.
Aldi, the applicant for the scheme, will build a 20,000 sq ft store with 138 car parking spaces, while the commercial building will be 6,500 sq ft. This building could be split and used as trade counter units.
JLL is Aldi’s planning advisor for the project. Regular Aldi collaborator The Harris Partnership is scheme architect, while the professional team also includes BWB, ACS Consulting, TCM Management, Weetwood, Sirius and Cameron Rose Associates.
The shop and car park will occupy the southern half of the site, with the employment space to be built north of the site, along the site’s western boundary.
While full planning permission is sought for these elements, the hybrid application also includes a bid to secure outline consent for a 4,300 sq ft drive-thru restaurant and an eight-pump filling station.
These refreshed proposals for the site follow a 2019 bid to build out industrial space and a trade counter unit, which was withdrawn in January 2020. Earlier consents for the site had included various blends of industrial, offices, a hotel and restaurants.
With local planning policy dictating that development in the area should primarily be industrial/business, the applicant has had to re-market the site, unused since 2002, to show that it has no appeal in this field.
Knight Frank and then Lamb & Swift marketed the site, with no viable proposals coming forward.
Neighbourhood consultation has thrown up 187 letters of support for Aldi, and just five in opposition. However, objections have also come from rival supermarkets Asda and Morrisons.
Approval is recommended for Aldi’s scheme at Liverpool’s planning committee, which meets on 17 August. The supermarket group has also been at committee this week for a scheme in Runcorn, and has this summer outlined its plans for 55 further North West locations.
Excellent news….I assume other developments in South Liverpool will include the old Abbey Cinema site and vacant land on Childwall Valley Road
By Tercol
Why Aldi again – surely we deserve a bit of choice? Its just banal Aldis and drive thrus it says a lot about society!
Was really sad when they knocked down the pub in Garston to make a KFC – good news that Garston is having a bit of a renaissance and little independent shops locating including bakeries and unifill (smashing shop where you can refill containers) – sick of these big chains!
By Bob Dawson
I would welcome an Aidi supermarket
By Joan boardmsn
Situating the entrance/exit where planned is going to cause even more traffic hold ups to what is already a very busy road/junction. Could the entrance/exit be moved further along Speke Hall Road as this may alleviate some of the traffic congestion. How exiting vehicles will be able to turn right from the car park is also going to create further problems.
By Terry Alan Barnett
Garston high street has so much potential but it’s being ignored, it has a village feel with many traditional commercial properties, as well as residential. If some more well designed residential were added and independent retailers brought in then Garston could mirror the success of Oxton over in the Wirral. Garston is convenient for the airport and mainline trains, so come on developers have some vision, Garston village is a missed opportunity.
By Anonymous
Good let it go ahead jobs in local area too
By W Poland