Aldi wanted to build a 1,800 sq ft store on Chorley New Road, close to the notoriously congested Beehive roundabout and Bolton Wanderers’ Toughsheet Stadium.
Access would have been via a new slip road entrance on Chorley New Road, near the roundabout. Vehicles would have exited from a different junction onto De Havilland Way, controlled by traffic lights.
At a meeting of Bolton town hall’s planning committee, Bryn Richards, real estate director for Aldi, said: “This would be our eighth store in Bolton and together with our regional distribution centre we already employ about 1,500 people in the borough.
“This store will add to our commitment to Bolton. The land for redevelopment is a long-standing objective for the council with it being allocated for employment generating purposes. Aldi will create at least 40 full-time equivalent jobs with the highest pay in food retail, above the real living wage.
“The proposal is a vote of confidence in the local economy with our investment expected to be £10m.”
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Bolton’s highways team said new lights on De Havilland Way would actually aid flow at the Beehive roundabout by creating ‘breaks in traffic’ for vehicles travelling along Chorley New Road.
However, several councillors expressed concern about traffic and road safety in the already congested area.
Cllr Sue Priest, said: “I don’t know how the exit will work, it will be bedlam.
“I cannot see how this will enhance or mitigate the severe congestion that we already have.
“There is severe congestion in the area and this will only add to it.”
Cllr David Grant, said: “The number one concern is for road safety.
“The access and egress to the store will interfere with footpaths and cycling routes.
“This causes significant risk, increased traffic flow will create hazardous conditions. “This is especially concerns given these paths are used by children and families.
“The potential for accidents and injury will increase.”
Competitors Lidl objected on the grounds of loss of employment land and that transport and accessibility measures fail against the council policy.
Similarly, Tesco, who have a huge superstore a few hundred yards from the site said there had been ‘inadequate retail assessment of the impact’. The planning committee unanimously rejected the plans.
