‘It’s ruined – we’ve lost our countryside’
Neighbours’ anger as development takes shape
THE neighbours of an emerging Aldi supermarket fear its opening will be bad news for them. Builders are putting up the discount food store off Grovefield Way, close to the Cotswold Cheltenham BMW site, as well as creating units for a Costa Coffee drive through and a Little Pioneers nursery and pre-school.
The Aldi store, which will be the town’s second, is being built in the corner of the site - alongside a row of houses in North Road West.
Residents there have seen the previously green site be transformed, first by the BMW business that opened in 2017 and now by the three developments being built by the Hinton Group.
And some of them are far from impressed.
Robert Pearce has lived in North Road West all his life.
The 61-year-old said it was a great shame that its rural nature was changing rapidly and he believed the latest development should have taken place in the town and not on its green outskirts.
He said: “It’s spoiled the area. It was countryside, with all the animals that were over there.
“Now there’s going to be extra traffic on the road.”
He said there were only 10 properties in his road and although residents had objected to the development, they had represented a small voice coming up against a big concern.
He added: “It was lovely. There was no need for a garage and a supermarket out here.
“They should have kept these things in the town, definitely, and left it as countryside.”
He said the traffic on Grovefield Way was often heavy now and would become even busier when the three new businesses opened.
Steve and Angela Emms moved to North Road West 20 years ago, before the area had been developed at all.
They bemoaned the fact that it had become more urban and busier traffic wise and they feared their environment would suffer further as a result of the new Aldi.
Mr Emms said: “I’m concerned about the traffic and pollution and also the noise from the compressors for their fridges and freezers.”
He and his wife hoped a high hedge on the edge of the field would remain as it screened their view of the development.
Mrs Emms said she would be furious if it was cut down. “It would ruin the look of the lane and accentuate the noise coming from the site,” she said.
An Aldi spokesperson said: “Construction is progressing as planned and strictly in line with the planning consent that was granted last year.
“We are looking forward to opening the store later this year and will keep the local community updated.”