By George Lythgoe – Local democracy Reporter
A NEW Aldi and drive-thru Costa will be built just off Hattersley town centre now plans have been given the green light.
The retail park would be accessed via Stockport Road with eight employment units and electric vehicle charging facilities to go alongside the food store and coffee shop.
The applicant claimed this could create hundreds of new jobs and boost the economy of Hattersley as a whole – stopping the need to leave the area to get food and work.
The panel was also told that 125 full and part-time local jobs as well as various other indirect jobs in construction would be created by this development.
Maple Grove Developments Limited and Onward Homes, say the 57,000 sq ft could be delivered within 18 months, with August being an estimated start date.
Each section of the site would have their own car parks totalling up to 179, with the majority of the parking spaces dedicated to the supermarket (120). The site is a short distance away from another supermarket in Tesco as well as a McDonald’s drive-thru, Premier Inn hotel and pub.
Dan Brown, speaking on behalf of the applicants, said: “This is within a prominent place in the heart of the Hattersley community. The land redevelopment has been a long standing priority for the council.
“Having been vacant for 15 years, we approached the council with our plans in 2023. The employment units would provide new workspace for the local area.”
He went on to tell the council this would bring more jobs to the local area and mean that locals would not have to go further afield to places like Stalybridge in order to access low-cost food stores like Aldi. He reiterated the number of jobs created by the proposed scheme and the benefit to the local Hattersley economy.
Three other applications were granted approval by the panel sitting in Guardsman Tony Downes House in Droylsden on April 17.
A significant development included outline permission for a new food hall and 21 apartments at the back of the current Poundstrecther site in Hyde town centre.
Despite objectors in the room describing the application as ‘ill-thought out’, referencing the lack of parking and the scale of the development, it still got the nod of approval from the panel.