Aldi forges ahead with plans for new store in Lancaster

Planning permission is sought for the new store, along with a new access route, to be built on land on the west side of the A6 Scotforth Road, around two miles south of Lancaster city centre.

The development would also include car and cycle parking facilities, vehicle charging spaces and pedestrian access routes.

Architects The Harris Partnership Ltd, on behalf of Aldi Stores Limited, have drawn up the detailed plans for the scheme.

Aldi have pledged to provide a cycle link within the scheme to enhance the current cycle network to Lancaster, alongside the preservation of an existing footpath.

They have said they will create "a unique design solution from a key gateway site into Scotforth, with prominent views from the surrounding landscape" and "work with the existing topography to create a design solution which is complementary to the existing landscape, which does not dominate the countryside in which it sits".

This would be a "modern, sympathetic, creative, and exciting addition to the local area" they say.

It would also create job opportunities for the local area, employing local contractors and labour during the construction of the development, as well as future opportunities of employment for local people within the final scheme, including construction and maintenance.

A virtual public consultation was held online via a consultation website in May 2021 with local residents and councillors invited to view and discuss the proposals.

The consultation resulted in 172 responses from residents, with a majority (65 per cent) expressing a significant level of support for the proposals.

However, some residents have lodged objections to the plans with the city council, particularly with regard to traffic concerns on the A6.

And Hugh Roberts, on behalf of Lancaster Civic Society said little effort has been made to harmonise the scheme with its surroundings.

"We note the Aldi company philosophy of "offering value for money through cost-effective management and efficient design” and fear that cost-effectiveness and efficiency have taken precedence over imaginative creativity," he said.

"We believe Lancaster deserves better than this lacklustre design and that the application should be reconsidered while substantial revisions are made."