Aldi

Benfleet, Essex

Through a co-ordinated community consultation exercise, we demonstrated almost unanimous levels of support for a new Aldi store in Essex, delivering jobs and other benefits to the local economy.

A stand-alone Aldi foodstore in Benfleet, Essex was approved in 2014. We secured permission for the regeneration of a vacant brownfield site to house a store of 1,702 square metres, with additional provision for 104 car parking spaces.

The site, previously occupied by a DIY store, had been identified as a regeneration opportunity for some time, with the Aldi foodstore expected to anchor the retail offering of Benfleet’s Tarpots district centre. 

Our role was to harness local support and work collaboratively with planning officers at Castle Point Borough Council to address individual concerns. 

Resolving highways and local townscape improvement matters in relation to the Section 106 agreement were pivotal actions in securing the consent.

Working alongside our sister company Communications Potential, we conducted a community consultation exercise with local residents and businesses. This resulted in an almost unanimous level of support for the application at.

Summary of achievements 

  • Coordination of pre-application discussions with the local planning authority (LPA) 
  • Production of a detailed planning and retail statement 
  • Coordination of planning application and submission 
  • Resolved highways and local townscape improvement matters 
  • Coordination of a community consultation exercise 
  • Secured 96% support from the local community prior to application  
  • Project managed consultant team 
  • Negotiated Section 106 agreement