Aldi to occupy Lancaster site previously earmarked for Booths
The discount retailer is planning to redevelop a site on Scotforth Road after Booths opted not to relocate there from Hala Road.
Aldi has submitted plans for a 20,000 sq ft supermarket on the Lancaster site.
The plot had previously been earmarked to house a Booths supermarket. In 2011, the high-end chain won approval for a 35,000 sq ft store on the site and planned to relocate there from a smaller store nearby.
The original plan was for the Hala Road store to be taken over by a discount retailer following Booths’ relocation to Scotforth Road.
However, despite triggering the planning permission by creating a new access road, Booths opted not to relocate, instead selling the Scotforth Road site to Aldi with planning permission in place.
While Aldi has now lodged fresh plans with Lancaster City Council, it is likely that the previous consent for a retail store on the site will work in the company’s favour.
“The site has an implemented consent for a convenience retail unit. Therefore, the proposed development of an Aldi food store at the site is acceptable in principle,” according to planning consultant Avison Young.
In 2020, Aldi opened another Lancaster store just under two miles from Scotforth Road on Aldcliffe Road. This store “serves an entirely separate catchment area”, Avison Young said.
