Aldi relocation approved by planners

A plan to demolish a cash and carry to build a new Aldi store in Bangor has been given the green light by planners.
Meeting in Caernarfon on Monday, Gwynedd’s Planning Committee approved Aldi’s plans to flatten the former Blakemore cash and carry on Caernarfon Road, replacing it with a 1,254m² supermarket.
Having been recommended for approval by planning officers, the development is set to create 10 new jobs while also protecting the 27 employees working at Aldi’s existing Garth Road store, which it will replace.
Also planned for the site are 113 parking spaces, 14 secure cycle spaces and the reconfiguration of site access shared with the Dunelm store to create a new roundabout.
Members were told this afternoon (Monday) that the company had been on the lookout for a new site for over three years, recognising Caernarfon Road as an established venue for retailers who couldn’t fit within the city centre.
The current store was described as “tired, dark, small and constrained” and that the plans would deliver a “sustainable development.”
The store, according to the planning application, would open between 8am and 10pm on weekdays, for a six-hour period between 10am and 6pm on Sundays, and between 8am and 8pm on bank holidays.
Local member, Gareth Roberts, described the former cash and carry as an “eyesore” are welcomed the proposals, with Cllr Owain Williams commending the German retailer for its commitment to bilingual signage.
 
The former Blakemore’s Cash and Carry closed its doors in 2015 after the company moved premises to the Llandygai Industrial Estate, before shutting down the whole operation in July 2018.
The plans were approved unanimously.

By Gareth Williams – Local Democracy Reporter