Aldi withdraws planning application for new store in Burnley

The discount chain submitted a planning application for the development in Westgate, Burnley, on April 21.

It was one of two in East Lancashire proposed out of 12 new stores across the county – the other being its first outlet in Darwen.

Now the firm as told Burnley Council it wished to withdraw the application for the Westgate scheme.

The Local Democracy Service understands it is a temporary withdrawal to add more information to the application.

A Design and Access Statement submitted with the original application says: “The development site is located on the western edge of Burnley Town Centre in close proximityto the M65 motorway which links back to the M6 within Lancashire.

“The site is accessed off Westgate, a road which becomes Westway (connecting with the M65) and turns into St James Street to the east where it connects directly with Burnley Town Centre, with the Local Plan describing the site as a Key Gateway.

“The town centre is approximately 400m to the east of the site and easily accessible.

“Aldi is one of the World’s largest privately-owned companies with over 7,000 stores across Europe, North America and Australia.

“The foodstore is proposed to be located along the northern boundary of the site, with the parking running adjacent to Westgate.

“This will allow views towards the store frontage from Westgate and present a site which has an active frontage along the highway.

“The store is modest scale supermarket that provides a limited product range. The total range of products is approximately 1,500 lines. This is limited in comparison together grocery stores and supermarkets which carry between 2,500 and 40,000 product lines, with superstores carrying up to 60,000 lines.

“Architecturally, the proposed foodstore appears to be single storey, with a ‘blade’ roof minimising the mass of the building and addressing the scale of the adjacent car dealership, whilst providing a prominent frontage to the customer car park and approach from Westgate

“A combination of metallic cladding, stone and glazing have been selected to reflect the adjacent car dealership, with the stone in keeping with the local vernacular along Westgate.

“The metallic cladding provides a contemporary aesthetic which combines well with the modern form.

“The glazing adds transparency and lightness to the facades and offers an active approach to the site.”An Aldi source said: “It’s just a temporary withdrawal while the firm adds in some more information to the application that was requested by the council. It will be resubmitted soon.”