THE company behind plans for a new supermarket in west Cumbria hopes the scheme will be given the green light ‘in the coming months’.

Aldi submitted an application to Cumberland Council for an improved food store in Whitehaven in November last year.

The discount food retailer wants to create the new store on an alternative site at Preston Street, which is currently used as a car park and is a focus for local regeneration.

Aldi says it is proud to have been part of the community in Whitehaven since 1994 but the existing store has become outdated, and is now the smallest store in Cumbria.

The company had explored a number of options to deliver an improved experience at the existing Preston Street store and extended it in 2007. However, the site’s constraints had limited further opportunities to extend.

The relocated Aldi food store would provide a much-improved shopping experience for Whitehaven residents, including wider aisles, customer toilets and self-check-out till options.

An Aldi spokesperson said: “Aldi has ambitious plans for continued investment across Cumbria, to help meet growing demand from our loyal customer base and improve access to our award-winning low-cost, high-quality products.

“We are committed to serving the community of Whitehaven and submitted our planning application to Cumberland Council for an improved store in November 2023.

“Since the application was submitted, we have been working with Cumberland Council to progress our plans and hope that they will be determined by the Planning Committee in the coming months.

“We are confident that there is demand for an improved Aldi food store in Whitehaven and believe that our proposals will help to reduce travel times for many of our customers.”

Should the application be approved, Aldi says it will commence marketing of the existing unit for a new occupier and has a successful track record in this regard.

The planning application can be viewed on the council’s website, using the application reference 4/23/2314/0F1.