Aldi offers £145,000 to make up for lost trees
ALDI is hoping to secure permission for a controversial new Birmingham store by offering £145,000 compensation for building on green land.
The German discount giant has been locked in a long-running battle over its plans for a store next to the Asda Queslett store in Great Barr.
It was refused permission by Birmingham City Council’s planning committee in February 2017 and has lodged an appeal with the Government planning inspector which is due to be heard in May.
The store was to be built on the edge of the Queslett Nature Reserve, which has protected status, leading to the loss of some green space and trees.
Plans have divided locals, though the weight of opinion is against the store. A petition opposing it has also been started.
Aldi already has a major store just a mile away at the Scott Arms junction.
The council listed four legal reasons for refusal: loss of green space, loss of trees, poor design and increase in traffic.
But it is now set to give way on two, according to a report to this week’s planning committee. The report stated that Aldi had negotiated an agreement to pay £145,430 to compensate for the loss of the trees.
It has also submitted further analysis of traffic conditions and agreed to pay for new road signs, cycle storage, pedestrian crossings and other road improvements to lessen the impact on traffic. It means that lawyers acting for the city council no longer believe they can defend a refusal of the application based on loss of green space or impact on traffic.
The council’s planning committee will be asked to agree to Aldi’s offer this Thursday (April 26).
But the report says the authority still intends to fight Aldi over the loss of about 60 trees, which help tackle pollution and are an attractive feature on the roadside. It will also challenge the company over the design, which has been criticised for being turned away from the busy Queslett Road with a car park to the rear.
Council planners concluded last year that rather than facing the road and being welcoming to pedestrians, the proposed design presents a ‘largely blank canvass to the street’ and is ‘car focused’.
It appears that with fewer differences between Aldi and the city council the store is inching nearer to getting the green light.