Aldi plans to leave centre for new store
DISCOUNT supermarket chain Aldi has revealed plans leave the Concourse Shopping Centre and build a new store in Skelmersdale.
The German retailer wants to demolish disused office buildings off Westgate and High Street to make way for its new supermarket and has submitted its plan to West Lancashire Borough Council.
Aldi said the new store would create up to 50 jobs, as well as restoring a prominent site which has become an eyesore.
The offices were last used by the Co-operative Group in 2016 but have been empty ever since and fallen into an increasingly poor state.
According to the application: “Today the site has become a target for vandalism, break-ins and anti-social behaviour.
“It offers a poor impression of the area, with all windows now boarded up and the site hoarded off from the public.
“The land is clearly ripe for redevelopment and the significant investment proposed by Aldi will provide the opportunity to radically improve the appearance and profile of this prominent site, whilst also creating 40-50 full and part-time jobs and enhancing consumer choice within western Skelmersdale – where there currently is no ‘main’ food shopping destination.”
Under the proposals, Aldi will move out of the Concourse, which it says it has outgrown and cannot provide the ground level parking which it argues is expected by shoppers.
“The current store is only two-thirds the size of the proposed one, which will also have parking space for 151 cars.
The move would be considered a major blow for traders at the Concourse who have already raised fears over the impact of the council’s heavy investment in creating a new town centre.
“As part of that development, construction work is due to soon start on a Lidl supermarket which will be an anchor tenant.
Documents submitted as part of the application state that Aldi has already supported the “vitality and viability of
Skelmersdale town centre for many years”.
It continues: “However, their business model has simply outgrown existing premises within the Concourse Shopping Centre and hence their requirement to move to an alternative location in Skelmersdale which will not only better meet customer expectations but will also help to support the vitality and viability of Sandy land local centre – ... given its well-connected edgeof-centre location.
“Lidl’s impending introduction into Skelmersdale town centre will replace Aldi’s current offer with a larger, more accessible foodstore and hence the centre will continue to benefit from an equivalent retail offer to that which has historically been provided by Aldi.”
Aldi’s plan will be considered by the council’s planning department.