Plans to build a new 1,915 square metre Aldi supermarket in Litherland look set to be approved next week.
The £7 million scheme would create 40 new, full-time equivalent jobs paid at an industry leading rate
The new store plus a 123 space car park would be built on land at the junction of Pendle Drive and Gorsey Lane.
The scheme will be decided by Sefton Council’s Planning Committee at Bootle Town Hall next Wednesday (11th December 2024) with a recommendation to councillors by planning officers to approve the scheme.
In a planning statement on behalf of Aldi, The Harris Partnership said: “The existing 2.43 Acre / 0.98 Hectare site is an unused, Sefton Council owned piece of land which has multiple vacant buildings on site including the, permanently closed, Children’s Services Building and Brook Lea Centre.
“This site was added to Sefton Council’s Brownfield Register in October 2017 and has been declared suitable for development.
“The site is opposite an existing retail terrace and surrounded by residential properties.
“ The local area is in need of regeneration as it is an under-developed area of Liverpool.
“ The following key design principles for the development of the site have been identified:
- To visually enhance the approach along Gorsey Lane by developing this prominent site in an appropriate way
- To create a safe and convenient customer car park for the ALDI foodstore with an entrance position proposed along Pendle Drive
- Improved pedestrian access into the site from Pendle Drive and Gorsey Lane and clear pedestrian routes through the site
- To update and enhance the site’s visual amenity creating a modern, sympathetic and exciting addition to the local area
- To create job opportunities for the local area employing local contractors and labour during the construction of the store.
“The design has a clear rationale that, when completed, will sit comfortably within its context and add value to the local area.”
In a statement, Aldi said: “The proposal site is brownfield land, most recently used by Sefton Council to provide Children’s Services.
“This use has come to an end and this vacant site and an opportunity has arisen to transform the area, creating a much-needed discount food store offering an award winning range of low-cost, high-quality products.
“Aldi’s nearest store, in Netherton, is of an older, smaller format that serves a different catchment area, and is unable to meet the growing local demand which has arisen amid the cost-of-living crisis.
“Shopping in the immediate area is otherwise limited to smaller convenience-type stores that can only meet day-to-day, short-term needs, limiting savings for shoppers.
“A Tesco Superstore is located approximately 1.5 miles from the site on Hawthorne Road, but products at other supermarkets have become increasingly expensive.
“A new Aldi food store at this site would enhance the local retail offer for residents in Litherland, alleviating pressures on our existing stores in Sefton and improving access to a discount retailer, through excellent connections to the local highways and bus networks.
“The new store would also contribute to local economic growth, representing an investment of £7 million and create 40 new, full-time equivalent jobs paid at an industry leading rate, as well as generating day-to-day footfall for traders at the small existing shopping parade on Bowland Drive.”
Aldi is one of the World’s largest privately owned companies with over 7,000 stores across Europe, North America and Australia.
Aldi opened its first stores in the UK in 1990 and currently operates approximately 1,000 stores across the UK and Ireland.
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