Aldi fails in Formby bid as councillors unanimously reject £9m scheme

Sefton Council’s planning committee has unanimously rejected plans for a £9m Aldi supermarket in Formby that would create 40 jobs.

Last night’s (July 26) meeting sided with the refusal recommendation from the local authority’s planning officers.

Concerns were raised about the impact a new supermarket would have on traffic, and Green Belt issues.

Aldi first launched its proposals in January this year, focused on a brownfield site just off the main Southport to Liverpool bypass.

It was most recently used to store vehicles and formerly operated as a commercial plant nursery, and it also has an existing planning consent for residential development.

The German retailer said its proposal would deliver a new signalised site access junction on the bypass, as well as facilitating improvements to pedestrian and cycle connectivity from Formby to the site and countryside.

And it claimed 85% support for the plans, with more than 600 unique responses to its consultation. It said people cited the need for a low-cost, high quality retailer in Formby, especially in light of the cost-of-living crisis.

However, Sefton’s planning officers opposed the application. They said, despite its previous development and non-conventional classification as Green Belt land, it falls under the Green Belt category.

Aldi responded by offering to provide a free shuttle bus for shoppers, and pay for more than £750,000 of highways improvements on the bypass, as well as suggesting traffic calming measures for the road link.

But councillors last night concurred with their officers and blocked the proposal.

One, Harington ward Labour Cllr Carol Richards, described the proposal as “the right store, but in the wrong place”.

Fellow Harrington ward Conservative Cllr, Joe Riley, said the plan was “inappropriate use of the green belt”.

He was also concerned about traffic implications, with shoppers queueing to enter the store from a 60mph carriageway. He said: “The Formby bypass would become the Formby seizure.”

Earlier this week Aldi moved for a deferral of the application and further talks with the council, but Cllr Riley said: “It won’t solve the inappropriate use of the Green Belt and it’s not going to get rid of the challenge of road safety.”