Aldi is consistently voted the most popular supermarket chain in the UK
The site of a new Aldi store on Pendle Drive in Litherland(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Retail giant Aldi is set to open a £7m superstore in one part of Merseyside. Work is currently underway on a piece of ‘derelict’ land which is being repurposed to accommodate the new store. The site on Pendle Drive, Litherland, was formerly occupied by Sefton Council buildings and facilities, but now belongs to Aldi which secured planning permission for a new store back in February – despite objections from rival supermarket Tesco.
According to the council, a number of other options had been considered for the site, but the local authority decided Aldi’s proposal provided the best value and the most promising benefits for the local community.
As part of the plans, the council required Aldi to put in place an Employment Skills and Development Plan, to maximise employment and training opportunities for local people. Sefton officials said the move would help to regenerate a deprived part of the borough, creating 40 full-time jobs with a combined annual salary of £1 million.
The site of a new Aldi store on Pendle Drive in Litherland(Image: Liverpool Echo)
Due to be completed by October, construction has already begun on the store which will also accommodate 123 car parking spaces – including eight accessible, eight parent and child spaces, and provision for electric vehicle charging points, with underground infrastructure to add a further 20 in the future.
There will also be seven covered, short-stay bicycle parking spaces for customers, and long stay bicycle parking spaces for staff, located within the store’s warehouse.
Planning documents show there will be new pedestrian links to Pendle Drive and Gorsey Lane and landscaping to improve the site’s appearance. There will also be new road junctions on Pendle Drive and a new vehicular access road through the site.
The site of a new Aldi store on Pendle Drive in Litherland(Image: Liverpool Echo)
As part of a planning committee visitor’s panel, Sefton Councillors were joined by Bootle MP Peter Dowd as they visited the Aldi construction site in April to assess the progress being made. At this stage, work demolishing the buildings had been completed and further site clearance plans were well underway.
Speaking after the site visit, Sefton Council leader, Marion Atkinson said: “I was pleased to see the progress that had been made ahead of construction on the store, which will provide a new, affordable shopping outlet for local residents as well as opportunities training and good quality employment for local people.”
These sentiments were shared by Peter Dowd MP who added: “This development provides opportunities for local people to gain secure and well-paid employment, while giving local shoppers a place to buy affordable food and other goods.
The site of a new Aldi store on Pendle Drive in Litherland(Image: Liverpool Echo)
“This new store will also bring upgrades to the highways to make the roads safer for pedestrians, as well as landscaping to improve the appearance of the site. This is good news for nearby residents.”
Aldi is one of the biggest supermarket chains in Europe, with stores across the UK and many in Merseyside and told the Liverpool ECHO it now has an agreed opening date. A spokesperson for Aldi said: “Construction of our new store on Pendle Drive is progressing well and we’re on track to open in November.
“We know there’s been a lot of anticipation locally and we’re looking forward to bringing our award-winning quality and unbeatable value to even more people in Sefton later this year.”