Plans have been officially lodged for a new £6 million Aldi store in West Cumbria.
The company has applied to Cumberland Council for planning permission to demolish buildings on the site of the former East Road Garage in Egremont, to make way for the new supermarket.
It is also proposing to make alterations to car and pedestrian access, create 86 car parking spaces, eight cycle spaces and add additional landscaping to make the borders of the site ‘more attractive.’
A public consultation on the proposed site was launched in November last year. It has now closed.
The application’s statement on community involvement added that the majority of responses received were ‘overwhelmingly positive’ and only a small number of objections were recorded.
Potential problem areas highlighted include access and traffic related concerns, insufficient parking worries and concerns about impact on local stores and people living close to the site.
A transport assessment has also been carried out and proposed that traffic generated by the development could be accommodated on the existing surrounding road network without resulting in a severe impact.
Plans are in place to upgrade the existing roads providing access to the site with an improved junction and a priority-controlled T-junction as well as a widening of the road width.
A noise assessment has also been carried out to assess impacts on people living nearby. It stated that the operational development is not likely to have a detrimental effect on the homes of the closest residents during daytime or night-time operations.
The application also said that work must be carried out to address ground contamination – likely to be from any imported made ground and leakages from underground fuel storage tanks and vehicle repair activities such as waste oil tanks and lubricant storage.
It added there may also be localised contamination such as asbestos in the site’s older buildings that must be dealt with before demolition.
Underground storage tanks are set to be removed professionally as well associated fuel lines, additional garage infrastructure and significantly hydrocarbon impacted soils on the site.
If planning permission is granted by the council – the new Aldi will create a total of 40 full-time and part-time jobs.
