Canal trust criticises plan for Whitchurch Aldi

Members of the Canal and River Trust said the plans for a new Aldi supermarket in Whitchurch would be 'visually intrusive' to the nearby canal.

Anne Denby, area planner, said: "The proposed building, due to its height, design and proximity to the canal would be visually intrusive when viewed from the canal corridor and adversely impact on its winder landscaped character.

"The building has a wide frontage to the canal and the building has an overall ‘urban feel’ which further increases its visual impact.

"Insufficient detail has been provided to demonstrate that the landscaping buffer would be sufficient to mitigate this harm and no assessment of the impact on the canal, as a non-designated heritage asset has been provided."

Despite backing plans for a new Aldi supermarket in Whitchurch in principle, members of the town council have also said they cannot support the scheme because of concerns about the site being off the busy Wrexham Road.

Plans submitted to Shropshire Council state traffic management measures and new parking arrangements in Wrexham Road will be introduced to improve the current road situation.

These include creating a right-turn lane into the site from Wrexham Road, two vehicle-activated speeding signs, and an extension to the 30mph zone on the road outside the supermarket.

The firm said the store could create up to 40 permanent full and part-time jobs for local people, in addition to roles during construction and supply-chain opportunities.

Aldi also said the building had been designed to respect the appearance of the surrounding area and it would feature a mono pitch roof with a two-storey frontage, reducing to a single storey at the rear of the building.

Aldi has revealed 76 per cent of people have so far welcomed the proposal. It follows a public exhibition where the firm invited more than 4,600 local residents and businesses to attend to view the plans.