Cost of living crisis: Castle Douglas' budget supermarket battle

Aldi wants to open a new store in Castle Douglas

The small town of Castle Douglas in the south of Scotland has been at the centre of a budget supermarket battle.

It already has a Tesco and a Co-op but now Aldi wants to open a store.

The proposals have been supported by the local community council and have also generated more letters of support than opposition.

Dumfries and Galloway Council has now approved the scheme despite being advised to reject it due to fears over its town centre impact.

Castle Douglas is proud of its reputation as the region's Food Town with a wide range of small traders dotted along its main street and beyond.

The local authority initially said it wanted to protect that "vitality and vibrancy" by turning down Aldi's Oakwell Road proposals.

After a lengthy council meeting, though, it agreed to approve the project with a string of conditions.

At present, the closest budget supermarkets are in Dumfries - 16 miles away - or Newton Stewart which is about 21 miles in the opposite direction.

Gillian Warden, who owns In House Chocolates on King Street in Castle Douglas, was among many people who felt rejection was the wrong option.

Gillian Warden said she did not think opening an Aldi would stop people coming to her shop

"A lot of people from Castle Douglas go presently to Dumfries or Newton Stewart to use Aldi," she said.

"We just feel that if it was in town - people are saving on fuel and it is easier for them to get to. It would maybe keep people in town."

She said she did not fear the impact on her trade and had not been consulted on what she thought of the proposals.

"We have a lot of customers that come from Dumfries and outwith the area to Castle Douglas to use the high street and I can't imagine that will stop because we have got an Aldi in town," she said.

Ms Warden said there was also a cost of living aspect to getting a budget supermarket.

"I think it is giving another option for people," she said.

"I think everybody is struggling across the board with electricity, gas and everything."

Nicola Forsyth said the town desperately needed the store in the current financial climate

Graphic designer Nicola Forsyth is from Ringford, a few miles from Castle Douglas, and echoed that view.

"This is about the need for choice, and at the moment in Castle Douglas we just don't have that," she said.

"It's a fact that Stewarty shoppers pay more per basket than any other parts of the region, leaving many of us with no choice but to travel to Dumfries or Newton Stewart regularly to do a main food shop.

"An Aldi store in Castle Douglas would encourage people to come to the town, benefitting other retailers and businesses in the town centre too."

The council is recommending refusal of the scheme to protect the town centre

She said it would also create jobs and cut the number of car journeys being done.

"In the current financial climate we find ourselves in, not only do we want Aldi in Castle Douglas but we desperately need it," she added.

A survey carried out by one local councillor also found overwhelming support for the scheme - but not everyone was in favour.

Objectors said it would cause "significant harm" to the town centre which already offered a broad range of stores.

The closest budget supermarkets to Castle Douglas are in Newton Stewart and Dumfries

They argued that there was no need for the budget supermarket and that there were already sufficient outlets in the area.

Some also voiced concerns about noise pollution and traffic volumes in the area.

After about two hours of debate, the council came down in favour of the project with a string of conditions attached.

That will now allow Aldi to start work on the supermarket which it hopes could be welcoming its first shoppers by the middle of next year.