PLANS have been submitted by Aldi Stores Ltd for a £7 million supermarket to be built on the edge Wellington.

Aldi wants to open a 14,000 sq ft store on a 2.8-acre site off the A38 Wellington Relief Road opposite the Westpark business park, Chelston.

The site was previously given planning permission in 2007 for the former Taunton agricultural market to relocate there, but the development did not go ahead.

Planning agent David Williams, of Avison Young, said the new store would provide ‘additional convenience shopping choice’ for Wellington residents.

Mr Williams said it would also help to claw back money which shoppers currently spent outside the town and reduce their need to travel further afield.

He said 30 to 40 jobs would be created ‘at industry leading pay’ levels, and the project would provide enabling infrastructure to kick-start development of the wider site which had been allocated for commercial use for more than 10 years.

Mr Williams said: “Aldi stores offer the customer a carefully selected range of high-quality, exclusive own label groceries at heavily discounted prices.

“These prices are guaranteed across the entire range of products.

“The aim is for goods to be sold with discounts of between 20 to 30 per cent for a full shopping trolley.

“Aldi has a very different approach to food retailing than other food retailers, based on simplicity and maximum efficiency at every stage of the business, from supplier to customer.

“This enables Aldi to sell high quality products, from a limited core range compared to other supermarkets of mainly exclusive own labels, at the lowest possible price consistently across the entire range.

“Aldi is a ‘deep discount’ retailer.”

Mr Williams said Aldi stores did not sell cigarettes and tobacco products and did not include a staffed butchery, fishmonger, bakery, delicatessen, hot food counter, in-store cafes, franchises such as a Post Office, dispensing pharmacy, dry-cleaning, opticians, betting office, travel agent, mobile phone shop, or photo processing, which were common in larger supermarkets.

He said: “Aldi complement, rather than compete with, existing local traders, independent retailers, and other supermarkets, as well as service providers, as Aldi customers use other facilities to fulfil their grocery and local service needs.”

Mr Williams said a public consultation exercise saw 458 people take part, of whom 375, or 82 per cent, supported the new supermarket.

A spokesperson for construction consultants Kendall Kingscott said the store was designed as a low, elongated single-storey building to avoid dominating the site and to compliment the surrounding tree line and contour of the land.

They said the store would include low and zero carbon technologies such as photovoltaic panels on the roof, and air source heat pumps supplemented by a heat recovery system.

Wherever possible, construction materials would be sourced locally and preference would also be given to obtaining materials from manufacturers and suppliers which had accredited environmental management systems.

Somerset Council is asking for any public comments to be submitted by August 22 and has set itself a target date to determine Aldi’s application by October 28.