ALDI has again stated that its proposed new Keynsham store would not threaten the viability of Tesco, following a fresh look at the health of town centre trading.
The supermarket chain wants to build a store on a site between the A4 Bath Road and World’s End Lane.
Its planning application will be decided by Bath & North East Somerset Council, which commissioned a study last autumn to assess the likely impact of a new Aldi store.
The report, by Nexus Planning, warned that the new store could potentially force the closure of Tesco and have a significant knock-on effect on the town centre. It recommended that planning permission be refused.
It repeated its concerns in response to a subsequent study – commissioned by Aldi from commercial property agent Avison Young – that concluded that the town centre was in fact thriving and there was no reason to be concerned about Tesco’s future.
Since then, Avison Young has conducted two further surveys, one in March this year and another in October.
It said the new “health checks” revealed that “Keynsham continues to be a thriving town with low vacancy rates, high footfall and strong retail offering of both independent and chain stores.”
It also noted B&NES Council’s approval of a new Keynsham Town Centre Regeneration Action Plan, which aimed to brighten up the environment and shop fronts in the High Street and Temple Street, along with new signage, better walking and cycling routes, and more community and cultural events.
“As the action plan comes forward, this will result in further enhancement to the town centre which will further contribute to its vitality and viability,” it said.
Avison Young also reviewed other locations to see if any were better connected to the town centre than its proposed site on the A4 Bath Road.
It said that, for example, Somerdale was unsuitable and, in any case, not available, and that any vacant town centre units were too small. These included the Ship Inn at Temple Street, which was also ruled out due to the constraints of its Grade II listing.
It also looked at areas of potential new housing developments identified in the new Local Plan, including one in north Keynsham for up to 2,400 homes.
But it said that that these sites offered possible store locations that were no closer to the town centre than its proposed site.
Regarding Tesco, Avison Young said it made further visits to its town centre supermarket in March and October this year.
It said both weekday visits confirmed observations made in October last year that the store was very busy, with most or all tills in use, congestion in the store aisles and high occupancy rates in the car park. This all suggested that Tesco was trading well and would remain viable even after construction of the proposed Aldi store on the Bath Road.
The report concluded: “There should be no reason for any concern with regard to the future trading prospects of the Tesco store in Keynsham Town Centre as a result of the proposed application.
“Further, it has been demonstrated that there are no suitable and/or available sites/premises in sequentially preferable locations.”
Aldi has also submitted a revised planning application for the site that includes a new serviced access into neighbouring land to the east owned by Places for People (PfP).
The PfP site is part of land around World’s End Lane that is designated by B&NES as a strategic allocated site for employment.
In 2021, Places for People was refused permission for an industrial estate on the site. It appealed after B&NES rejected the plan, but the appeal failed to get the decision overturned.
Since Aldi submitted its original planning application in May last year, B&NES Council’s expected decision date has been repeatedly pushed back. The latest target date is December 15.
Pictured above, an artist’s impression of the proposed Keynsham store
Aldi store plan ‘not a threat to Tesco’
