Aldi sale falls through

aldi 2Budget supermarket chain Aldi have pulled out of their plans to open a store on the former Meadows Special School site on Tunstall Road.

While the exact reason that Aldi have withdrawn from the deal remains unclear, Staffordshire County Councillor Mark Deaville, Cabinet Member for Commercial said: “The county council is committed to selling the site, but the constraints and planning issues aren’t straight forward meaning the previous plans can’t be implemented as envisaged. Therefore the site has gone on the open market and we expect to make a decision on offers received over the summer.”

The County Council had been in discussions with different developers over a number of years regarding the site including another budget supermarket chain Lidl who had expressed a long term interest in opening a store in Biddulph. Previous to the ‘agreed’ sale of the site to Aldi, Jo Hawley, Lidl UK’s Regional Head of Property, had said: “We remain absolutely committed to bringing a new multimillion-pound Lidl store to the former Meadows Special School site on Tunstall Road and look forward to continuing our discussions with Staffordshire County Council, the owners of the land.”

Both Aldi and Lidl have indicated that they are still interested in opening a store in Biddulph but as the Meadows site appears to be unsuitable and is back on the market, an alternative site may have to be found to accomodate a supermarket.

An Aldi spokesperson said: “We are always considering new locations for stores in areas across the UK, including in Biddulph. When we have confirmed a location for a new store we will update the local community.”

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