Work to build a new Aldi in West Cumbria is set to start soon.
It also gained permission to build a larger store in Whitehaven on Preston Street.
It has now said that construction on the new Egremont store is set to start in the next few months, with a projected opening date of 2026.
Work has already started on the site of the new Whitehaven store, on Preston Street, and is set to be complete in the coming months.
An Aldi spokesman said: “We’re excited to have begun construction work on our new store in Whitehaven. We’re looking forward to completion and welcoming our first customers in the coming months.
“We’re also looking forward to beginning construction on our new Egremont store in the coming months, and hope to be open for business there in 2026.”
Aldi 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 were 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 was 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 was agreed on.
The existing Aldi is around 200 metres north of the new site on Preston Street. The new site was previously used as a pay and display car park and Aldi said its existing 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.
