New Whitchurch Aldi 'would hit town shops'
Building a superstore on the edge of Whitchurch could affect shops within the town centre, planners claimed today.
Discount giant Aldi wants to open a new store on the Whitchurch bypass, just off the roundabout for Ellesmere and Bangor-on-Dee.
But experts claim the the proposed development will adversely affect the town centre.
Aldi says it would put a shopper bus on to encourage people to travel between the store and town centre.
The report, compiled ahead of a meeting of Shropshire Council north planning committee, says the impact on the town centre and the impact on connectivity are not considered to be outweighed by the public benefits of the development.
Whitchurch Town Council would welcome the addition of Aldi to Whitchurch but says the site is unsuitable.
"It is on a greenfield site outside the development boundary and it is close to a roundabout that is on a very busy road that has had a high number of road traffic collisions," the town council says.
"The proposed location will have a highly detrimental effect on the town centre and existing traders."
The town council has pointed out that Aldi owns a site in the Waymills area of town which had much better connections with the centre.
"It is on a bus route, two minutes walk from the railway station and a five-to-10 minute walk from the town centre."
There is also concern about the affect on the nearby canal and the historic, rural landscape because of the height and design of the supermarket.
A statement from the Canal and Rivers Trust says: "Insufficient detail has been provided to demonstrate that the landscaping buffer would be sufficient to mitigate the impact on the canal. The building would be a prominent feature and has an urban feel."
The planning application has attracted 59 letters of support and 23 letters objecting to the proposals.
Whitchurch Branch of Shropshire Wildlife Trust has also objected saying that the canal and adjacent country park form an important green wedge and that the proposed store would be visually intrusive and restrict views from the canal and tow path, impacting on the wider landscape.
