Aldi submits revised plans for proposed Hove store

Discount supermarket chain Aldi has submitted revised plans to build a store close to the A27 in Hove, creating about 50 jobs.

In January, the discounter withdrew its plans to demolish the remaining buildings at Court Farm House, Hove, at the top of King George VI Avenue, known locally as Snakey Hill, and build a new store there.

The application was due to go before Brighton and Hove City Council’s Planning Committee, where councillors were advised to refuse permission. An officer’s report said that the transport assessment was “not robust”.

Since Aldi withdrew its application, the landscape has changed, with the council granting outline planning permission for 880 homes on the neighbouring Toads Hole Valley site.

Aldi’s latest plans include a store with 1,880 square metres (sqm) of total floor space, a 1,315sqm shop floor and a 115-space car park with eight electric vehicle charging points.

The company said that it had consulted Highways England and the council before submitting its latest plans. As a result, it said, drivers would have to turn left only on leaving the car park.

A report by transport planning and highway design consultancy Connect Consultants said that the car park would comply with the required standards and the store would have a “modest impact” on traffic.

The report said: “The site is accessible by a choice of travel modes and will reduce reliance on the private car consistent with national and local planning policy.”

The nearest bus stop is 150 metres away for the hourly 21/21A service. But the transport report said that a new bus route was expected to serve the homes planned for Toads Hole Valley.

The 27 service operates every 15 minutes from bus stops just under a third of a mile away – or about 500 metres – in Dyke Road.

Aldi said that it posted leaflets to more than 1,000 homes and businesses in the area as part of a consultation – and staged a virtual exhibition.

The company said: “The proposals have adopted a sympathetic and landscape-led approach to the design of the layout and appearance of the proposed food store and its associated parking.

“The proposed food store would not result in any notable adverse effects upon the character and appearance of the receiving landscape … or the visual environment.

“Indeed, when compared to the approved residential development, it is considered that the proposals present a number of landscape and visual benefits.”

Previously, councillors approved plans for 69 flats in two three-storey blocks at the site in March 2017.

Two people have commented on the latest plans on the council’s website, one in support and one objecting to the application.

The supporter, whose details are removed on the council’s website, said: “Good design.”

The opposing commenter, whose details were also redacted, said: “I object to any development in this location which would increase the amount of traffic in the area, which already grinds to a standstill at all peak hours plus Sunday midday.

“At times, the traffic tails back from the roundabout with the A27 and A23 to the Upper Drive.

“This also makes it almost impossible for vehicles, including public transport (no 27), trying to enter Dyke Road Avenue from either Woodland Drive or Valley Drive and therefore Whitethorn Drive where I live, exposing me to noise and chemical nuisance.”

Aldi paid £5.5 million for the two-and-a-half-acre site in 2020, intending to build a fourth Brighton and Hove store there.

The company already has shops in London Road and Lewes Road, in Brighton, and Carlton Terrace, in Portslade.

To see the plans or to comment, visit the planning pages on the council’s website and search for BH2022/03483.