Plans for new Aldi in Wigan get the green light

The former Arnold Clarke site on Wigan Road, Ashton-in-Makerfield, will be demolished and replaced with the shop and customer parking area.

The old car sales building has been vacant for more than 12 months and will become one of the new stores planned for Greater Manchester by 2025.

Back in 2020, the supermarket announced that it was planning on opening another 20 stores around Greater Manchester – one of which will be in Bryn.

This would be the second Aldi in the Ashton area of Wigan with one site already in operation on Princess Road in the town centre.

According to the foodstore, the past decade in particular has seen the retailer’s popularity increase dramatically.

As a result, older stores such as Princess Road "have begun to suffer severe ongoing operational difficulties” because they are based on a trading format which is outdated and simply too small to meet the demands of Aldi’s growing customer base.

The 1,804m sq site got the thumbs-up from 80 per cent of the 194 locals they consulted.

Objections to the plans related to the current traffic on Wigan Road. However, Aldi said that only three to four deliveries from HGVs would be made each day with fresh food and goods.

Of the proposed 117 car parking spaces planned, four will also be equipped with Electric Vehicle Charging Points (PVCPs). This proposal will bring 40 full-time job roles to the area with a varying range of roles from apprenticeship level to store manager.

Aldi opened its first stores in the UK in 1990 and currently operates over 800 stores across the UK and Ireland. Aldi’s plans announced in 2020 stated that it would have 1,200 shops open to the public by 2025.

A planning statement said: “The proposed Aldi discount foodstore scheme will represent a high-quality development and will promote a contemporary design using an appropriate materials palette which also respects the site’s context, to the benefit of the local and wider environment. The foodstore will replace a far larger commercial development of poor architectural quality and will therefore radically improve the visual appearance of the site.”

Aldi has also been obligated to pay £2,500 to Wigan Council which goes towards the Travel Plan for the area. This would be a Section 106 obligation for the shop.