Mixed opinions as budget supermarket Aldi submits planning application for new store in Stroud

The discount food retailer wants to build a shop on the site of Stroud Auctions in the Bath Road Trading Estate in Dudbridge – just half a mile from rival Sainsbury’s.

Aldi say the new store would create up to 50 jobs for the area and save customers travelling to Quedgeley to shop at the chain.

But critics argue Stroud doesn’t need another large supermarket and that the store will mean more traffic along an already busy Bath Road.

The proposals would see the current buildings demolished to make room for a new 1,918 square metre supermarket.

There will also be parking space for 116 cars, new landscaping and improved access from Bath Road and Dudbridge Road.

The brownfield industrial site lies one mile south-west of Stroud and has bus links to the town.

It is located within an Industrial Heritage Conservation Area and lies just north of Lightpill Mill, a Grade II listed building.

The plans have drawn both praise and criticism on the planning website.

Chris Brookes from Stroud supported the idea, saying his family currently have to travel to Gloucester to shop at Aldi.

“It is second to none for price and quality. It is what Stroud needs and it will create jobs,” he said.

Becky Sears agreed, saying: “I currently commute to Gloucester to shop at Aldi. This store will provide good challenge to the local supermarkets to lower cost.

“It will also provide secure well paid employment for the local community. I hope this application will be approved.”

But other weren’t so keen to see another large supermarket in the town.

Zapkam Limited, a company at the trading estate which makes sportswear, objected to the proposals, raising concerns about traffic, accidents and its effect on other businesses on the site.

It said: “Forcing many small businesses to relocate from the Bath Road Trading Estate will cost them a lot of money and inconvenience - and could even potentially be the final nail in the coffin.

“Stroud does not need another supermarket as it already has three large supermarkets which are never fully utilised.

“Furthermore, you are proposing building on a site where the junction to it is right next to an accident hotspot at the Kites Nest junction, where the road from Sainsbury’s meets the Bath Road.

“There are numerous minor accidents and near misses here and adding more traffic coming in and out of the Trading Estate will only cause more issues.”

Robert Cook, who works on the site, argued a traffic lights or a roundabout would be needed to access the A46.

“Exiting the site for many years has been a nightmare even in quiet times but impossible at busy times, residents are in the hands of a few courteous drivers or someone using the pedestrian crossing 150m away,” he said.

“One can only imagine what the position will be when there are an extra few hundred vehicles attempting to leave the site.”

Nevertheless, the German giant has proven itself increasingly popular with shoppers, being named the Which? Best UK Supermarket for four years in a row.

Its rival for the title, Lidl, has voiced its intention to build a store on the Dudbridge Industrial Estate – just four minutes’ drive away.

The nearest Aldi is currently located in Bristol Road, Quedgeley.

To have your say on the proposals please visit the SDC planning website and search S.16/1023/FUL.