A new major Aldi development could soon be opening in Prescot if plans are approved this week.
The proposals for the former BICC site on Cables Way also involve offices, a pub and two drive-through facilities as well as the supermarket, according to planning documents submitted to Knowsley Council.
Aldi is seeking a hybrid application for the site, which is the size of more than five football pitches. This means full permission is being sought for the supermarket and offices while outline permission has been requested for the pub and drive-throughs – with less detail provided about those parts of the plans.
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The proposals have attracted some opposition, particularly from two rival supermarket giants, Tesco and Asda. Each have registered their disapproval of the plans, as has a local councillor and several local residents, although dozens of people have also commented in favour of the proposals.
Some of the concerns expressed in the objections focus on the location of the development, while others relate to the existence of flooding risks at the site and the fact that part of it is within Knowsley’s greenbelt.
Tesco claimed the plans were in contradiction with at least six planning policies and questioned Aldi’s approach to a ‘sequential test’, which is carried out when developments for uses such as retail are proposed outside of town centres and looks at what alternative sites are available in those town centres.
The supermarket giant, which has a Tesco Extra store nearby, also argued that Aldi failed to sufficiently take into account the negative impact of another supermarket in the area.
In a report produced ahead of Thursday's meeting, Knowsley Council planning officers said Tesco was not satisfied with the methods used by Aldi and agreed with some of the claims.
Officers said Tesco claimed Aldi had failed to carry out the sequential test appropriately and had also not carried out a robust assessment of trading impacts because of a reliance on "out of date" data obtained during the pandemic.
Tesco also claimed that the data which was provided showed an impact of around 7% on trade in the town centre, however. This is considered to be "substantial" and likely to create "significant adverse impact" on the "fragile" redevelopment of Prescot, according to officers.
Concerns were also raised around traffic, pedestrian access, pollution and the risk of anti social behaviour. United Utilities objected to the plans over issues around conflicts with easements and access via Carr Lane.
Adressing the existence of green space on the site, the applicant had called the area an “anomaly” with low quality overgrowth. Knowsley Council officers appeared to agree, stating: “The small area of greenspace proposed to be lost is not considered to have merit in terms of contributing to visual amenity given its primarily overgrown nature in parts.”
Officers added that there was an excess of green space in the South Prescot area and provision had been made in the planning documents for green space elsewhere in the development.
Across a report stretching to nearly 70 pages, officers addressed a number of concerns raised through objections and concluded by recommending the plans, subject to over 40 separate conditions including the signing of a Section 106 agreement.
Officers said that after considering pros and cons of the development, “significant weight is given to the economic benefits of the proposal.”
Councillors will now meet on Thursday to decide whether to accept the officer recommendations and approve the plans.
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