WEST Swindon shoppers are to get a new Aldi early next year after plans to build a new store were approved.

The shop will be built on the site of the old Westlea campus and will provide up to 40 new jobs when it opens.

Plans were first made public earlier this year and were called before the planning committee due to the size of the proposals, which also include up to 70 new houses adjacent to the store.

Despite a few concerns about traffic entering from Shaw Road, the new Aldi received strong support from members during Tuesday night’s meeting.

However, there were some reservations about the housing element of the plan as there is currently no detailed layout. Therefore this will have to be reconsidered by officers, and perhaps the planning committee, before any construction can begin.

Aldi welcomed the decision and said it would bring a large boost to the local economy.

Ben Shotter, the Aldi Property Director, said: “We are absolutely delighted with the decision and are looking forward to opening the fourth Swindon store.

“We hope to begin work on the site by the end of the first quarter next year and then to open at some point in the second half of the year.

“Aldi offers high quality products at great prices which West Swindon does not have. There will be about 40 new jobs which will be of a high quality.

“We don’t have zero hour contracts and generally offer a minimum of 25 hours per week.”

The housing aspect of the development is being handled by a partner company but they will have to submit a further application with the details of the design.

Although the application is for up to 70 houses, the planning committee felt it may be too many for the size of the space.

Councillor Nick Martin (Con, Shaw) said: “The description I would use is that it is like an iceberg. You have Aldi leading the way but there is also the housing underneath which is a large part of the proposal.

“For me, it seems as though 70 homes is squeezing every last possible space out of the site when perhaps fewer homes would be better to make sure the roads could be wider.

“In the surrounding area we have a good density with space for parking so we want to try and keep that.”