Aldi store plan refused by councillors

Plans to build an Aldi store have been refused by councillors due to concerns over its impact on neighbouring properties.

More than 1,200 people supported the application for the site in Ivybridge, Devon, which the supermarket's real estate director Elliot Saunders said was the highest level of support for one of its UK stores, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

South Hams councillors backed planning officers who said the store off Rutt Lane, near the railway station, would be "overbearing" for neighbours.

Michael Gibson, whose home backs on to the planned supermarket site, said it would have an "unacceptable" visual impact along with noise from deliveries and machinery.

Mr Gibson told the meeting it would also affect the livelihood of other business owners in the centre of the town.

However, Mr Saunders told the meeting the level of public support had been "extraordinary".

In response to issues raised earlier in the planning process, he said they moved the building further away and lowered the roof height.

"We are at a point now where we don't believe we can do any more," he said.

Councillor Georgina Allen said she felt the plan showed a store "shoe-horned" into the site.

"It will be convenient but it comes at an expense," she said.

"There are also questions of air quality, traffic, food miles and out-of-town shopping."

Committee chairman Mark Long added: "We can all see the benefits, but I think everybody can see the downsides.

"People will come and go for their shopping, but there are people who are going to have to live with this 24 hours a day.

"It's a site for something, but it may not be the site for something like this."

Councillor Matt Steele said he did not believe a new store would harm town centre trade.

Members voted by seven to two to reject the plan.

It is the second time plans to build an Aldi in Ivybridge have been rejected after a separate proposal was refused in 2022.