Aldi has revealed the opening dates for two new West Cumbrian stores.
It has now said that while construction timeframes are still under consideration – it does have initial opening dates in mind.
An Aldi spokesman said: “Aldi is delighted that both planning applications for new stores in Egremont and Whitehaven were unanimously approved by the planning committee in November last year.
“Aldi remains committed to developing these two stores to better serve the residents of Egremont and Whitehaven.
“At this stage our timeframes are still under consideration. We anticipate that the new Whitehaven store could be open in time for Christmas 2025, and the Egremont store by mid 2026. “
The chain said the two new stores will see a combined investment of £14 million go into the local economy.
A total of 50 new, full-time jobs will also be created and staff at the existing Whitehaven store will be retained.
It added that additional employment opportunities during construction of the stores and in the supply chain will also be created.
Aldi initially lodged a planning application for the Egremont site early last year – but faced several requests to provide more details on how the new store would impact traffic in the area.
The plans remained on hold for most of the year, which prompted concerns from townsfolk that Aldi were looking at other sites for a new store in Whitehaven, rather than Egremont.
But Aldi later said it remained committed to both towns and had been working on plans for an improved, larger store in Whitehaven and a new store in Egremont simultaneously.
A total of 251 letters of support have been lodged for the Egremont store with a further eight objecting to the plans and two submitting neutral responses.
Egremont’s Town Council also said it supported the plans for the new store.
For the Egremont Aldi plans to be approved, a financial contribution of £6,600 has been agreed on with Aldi for the review of Travel Plan Monitoring reports.
While both National Highways and Cumberland Council’s highways team initially flagged several areas for further examination – including car parking provision, bike provision and pedestrian access from the A595 underpass – both later issued no objections to the plans.
National Highways raised a number of holding objections to prevent the determination of the planning application until further information was provided by Aldi in relation to the impact on the A595 and drainage provision.
The organisation has now said it does not believe there will be a capacity issue at the East Road junction due to low flow on the road but that impact is expected on the main roads in the area and the A595 roundabout near the site which can be at or near capacity at certain times of day.
For plans to be approved for the larger Aldi store on Preston Street in Whitehaven, a financial contribution of £6,600 for the review of the travel plan monitoring reports and a financial contribution of £50,000 towards the delivery of a parallel signal controlled crossing has been agreed on.
The existing Aldi is around 200 metres north of the new site on Preston Street. The new site is currently used as a pay and display car park and Aldi said the site offered limited opportunities for an extension.
The budget supermarket chain said it has explored a number of options to improve customer experience at the existing food store for many years as the store has an outdated layout and appearance – but that it felt relocation was its best option.
The new store will have upgraded access from Preston Street, a car park with enough space for 100 cars and will employ 30 full-time employees.
Eight letters were submitted in support of plans for a larger Aldi store in Whitehaven while three people objected to it.
