Aldi wins £7m planning consent despite objections

Aldi said it had looked at eight other sites in the area before agreeing on the Canford Bottom site

Discount retailer Aldi has won planning consent for a £7m supermarket in Dorset despite 350 public objections.

The decision goes against Dorset Council planning officers' recommendation to refuse building on the area off the Canford Bottom roundabout near Wimborne, partly because half the site is within the greenbelt.

Residents opposing the plans have said "the promise of cheaper groceries or jobs does not over-ride the Green Belt policy".

Aldi real estate director Elliot Saunders said the company had been disappointed by the recommendation to refuse and argued that the greenbelt area, on part of the site, did not fulfil any of the greenbelt objectives.

Some residents said the supermarket being so close to one of the busiest road junctions in the county was likely to lead to more traffic problems

The objections are part of 524 public comments on the proposal and include Colehill Parish Council.

The 174 comments in favour include that of a single mother who sent a statement to the committee asking to support the new store to help people on lower incomes.

Questions were raised about whether the 120-space car park would be adequate.

Hilary Pascall, who lives directly opposite the site, said the supermarket so close to one of the busiest road junctions in the county was likely to lead to more traffic problems.

Another resident, Diane McLeavy, said "the promise of cheaper groceries or jobs does not over-ride the greenbelt policy".

"...our greenbelt is not for sale," she told the council's area planning committee.

The council decision will now have to go to the Secretary of State because it goes against the recommendation to refuse.

Former Dorset Council leader Spencer Flower, proposed agreeing to the plans, saying the area needed more choice and that an extra supermarket might help reduce traffic across the wider area.

Aldi said it had looked at eight other sites, none of which proving suitable, and that the chosen one lacked discount supermarket options for residents in Canford Bottom, Wimborne and the surrounding areas.

It said the development could create up to 40 new full and part-time jobs.

On its website, the retailer calls the site, which is about 0.9 hectares (2 acres), "very well suited" for its new store.

The motion to approve was on a 5-2 vote and included a long list of conditions which will be now be negotiated by council officers.