Store Wars: Aldi's town centre bid will divert trade, warns Morrisons
A fresh round of store wars has broken out in north Shropshire after a retail giant objected to a planning application for a new discount supermarket.
Morrisons, which is due to start work on building a new store on the edge of Oswestry as part of a major new retail and leisure development, has complained about an application made by Aldi for a new store nearby.
It said Aldi has not made clear the impact its planned new shop in Shrewsbury Road will have on the town centre.
Aldi already has a store on Oswald Road in the town which has just been extended. It is immediately next door to the current Morrisons store.
Objecting to the new Aldi application, chartered town planner Peacock and Smith on behalf of Morrisons, says there is no surplus spending to support new retail food store development, once all planning commitments have been implemented.
In a letter sent to Shropshire Council, a spokesman for Peacock and Smith, said: "The national planning policy framework and local development plan are clear that, where an application is likely to have significant adverse impact on town centres, it should be refused.
"Morrisons operates a medium sized food store in the town centre next to the bus station. This store helps to anchor the town centre and generates footfall for other shops and services in the town centre.
"Morrisons also owns the site on Shrewsbury Road where the development of a retail and leisure complex will start shortly.
"This planning permission was granted to meet a specific need for new retail development in Oswestry to reduce over-trading of existing food stores in the town and to claw back leakage of retail expenditure from Shrewsbury and Wrexham."
It added: "We have undertaken our own assessment of capacity which indicates there is an over-supply of food stores in the town and there is no need for the town to plan for any new food store developments, either now or in the medium term.
"The effect of allowing additional food store development in the town is to simply divert trade from existing stores, most of which are in the town centre.
"We have undertaken our own assessment of impact indicating that cumulatively the Aldi proposal together with the Smithfield commitment will have a -40 per cent impact on the convenience goods turnover of Oswestry town centre as a whole."
