Plans submitted to build new Aldi in Devizes
The development is proposed on a 3.5-acre brownfield plot south of the A361.
Plans to build a new supermarket and drive-through coffee shop in a Wiltshire town have been submitted to Wiltshire Council.
Budget supermarket chain Aldi and its development partner PRZM Real Estate want to build a new supermarket on land south of the A361 London Road, currently used as a motorcycle training facility.
The German firm says the £10 million store would create 40 new jobs.
Around ten further jobs are likely to be created as part of the drive-through coffee shop, which forms part of the plans.
The proposals include 97 free car parking spaces and electric vehicle charging points.
The development is proposed on a 3.5-acre brownfield plot to the south of the A361 London Road, Devizes.
It is located in the north-eastern part of the town, near the residential area of Northfields and opposite the northern edge of Hopton Industrial Estate.
The site was formerly a police driving training facility and skid pan. Its is currently used as a motorbike school. It lies to the east of the Cannings Hill garage and car wash.
The store, which would sit to the south of the development plot, would measure 1,800 square metres.
To encourage sustainable travel, the application includes cycle routes and racks, and pedestrian access from Horton Road. There are existing bus stops not far from the pedestrian access.
Motorists would access and exit the site from the A361 London Road.
The store itself would be a single-storey building clad in grey metal and extending to 6.3 metres tall at its highest point.
The proposed landscaping plan has been designed to enhance the site periphery and retain existing established trees where possible, with new trees and hedgerow proposed.
The store would be lit and heated with the use of solar roof panels and air source heat pumps supplemented by a heat recovery system.
External lighting, say the plans, will be designed “to reduce the detrimental effects of night-time light pollution.”
In January, the firm undertook public consultation, which resulted in 399 responses being submitted.
Of those, 83.7 per cent were in favour of the proposal, with 11.5 per cent against and 4.8 per cent unsure.
277 respondents agreed with the statement “I love it, I hope the council approves the plans,” while 246 agreed “It will be great for the community,” and 226 supported the statement “The investment is very much welcome in this area.”
Twenty-nine respondents agreed with the statement: “I don’t think the proposals will benefit the area,” while 41 supported the statement “Aldi isn’t needed.”