Amended plans for new Sainsbury's given go-ahead

The retailer said people's shopping habits had changed over the past decade, which was reflected in the new plans

Sainsbury's has been given the go-ahead to build a store in Alsager, which will create about 100 new jobs.

The retailer secured permission for the new store on the site of the former Twyford Bathrooms off Linley Lane in 2014, but it never materialised.

On Wednesday, Cheshire East Council unanimously approved a revised application for the scheme, which will also include an in-store Argos.

Gary Morris, agent for Sainsbury’s, told councillors the application had been amended as the retail market had changed in the decade since the original permission was granted.

"A lot of people work at home, which gives them more opportunities to shop during the week so we don’t see the Friday and Saturday peaks that we used to, so that means we don’t need as many car parking spaces because you’ve not as many people in the store at any one time," Mr Morris said.

“We’ve got online shopping now, which wasn’t really a thing back in 2014."

The car park will have 249 spaces, rather than 302, and the petrol station will be reduced to three pumps, but with four rapid EV charging points.

The supermarket will have solar panels on the roof, as Sainsbury's uses renewable energy.

The retailer will also make financial contributions towards highway and junction improvement works at Linley Lane as part of the scheme, as well as £100,000 towards a Saturday bus service.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.