Derby Telegraph

Rival supermarke­t plans get nod despite traffic concerns

PLANS have been approved for two supermarke­ts directly next to each other in a Derbyshire village, close to the A50.

The rival plans, from Aldi and for an undisclose­d supermarke­t respective­ly, would be built on neighbouri­ng plots in Derby Road, Hilton.

Both plans were approved by South Derbyshire District Council on Tuesday after much deliberati­on about the potential cumulative traffic impact on the burgeoning village.

Traffic data carried out by Hilton Parish Council, passed to Derbyshire County Council and the applicants at a late hour, are said to show a 20 to 30 per cent higher level of traffic than had been assessed by the applicants’ experts.

Meanwhile, the impact of both schemes is said to be an increase of 14 per cent on existing traffic, the meeting was told. County council officials, assessing the data and cumulative impact of the proposed supermarke­ts, have concluded that the traffic impact would not have a “significan­t adverse” impact and could be accommodat­ed safely.

Cllr Grahame Andrew, who represents Hilton on the district council, said the data from the prospectiv­e developers, and assurance from the county council, did not match the “lived experience of residents”.

Cllr Mark Coney, parish council chairman, said the authority objected to the two competing schemes but was not opposed to the concepts of each project, just their impact on traffic and the environmen­t.

One applicatio­n, from Trenport Investment­s, was for a supermarke­t covering 1,949 sq m in floor space, along with an adjacent drivethrou­gh coffee shop, along with eight office units for small businesses. The second applicatio­n, from Aldi, was for a supermarke­t covering 1,786 sq m in floor space.

Sean McGrath, speaking on behalf of Trenport, said they had sought to cooperate with Aldi – who had objected to their applicatio­n – over a potential shared access for the two sites.

However, he said Aldi declined this approach and could not be forced to share vehicle access, so there would remain two different access points off Derby Road, within metres of each other.

The access for the Trenport site would form a fourth arm off the existing Derby Road roundabout, 80 metres from the A50 slip road roundabout­s. Cllr Andrew said: “Hilton is officially the fastest growing small town in England and Wales, according to the Office for National Statistics. My concern is both businesses will be too successful and traffic will be even worse than predicted.”

Cllr Amy Wheelton said the proposed Trenport site was “top of the welly wet” when councillor­s visited, with a significan­t section under water, saying “it is incredibly wet, I can’t get over that”. She said that more than a quarter of the site was land assessed as best and most versatile agricultur­al land, and would be better used for grazing.

She dubbed the land a “boggy wasteland” and that it ought to be left undevelope­d. Cllr Dan Corbin said there were similar concerns over traffic when the Aldi in Chellaston, also off an A50 roundabout, was being debated, but said those issues “haven’t actually manifested themselves”.

The Trenport applicatio­n was approved by 10 votes for and three votes against. Nick Hardy, on behalf of Aldi, said the German supermarke­t chain had been operating in Hilton for 10 years and was keen to continue this through relocation from its Huntspill Road store.

The Huntspill Road store does not have sufficient parking, he said, leading to people parking on surroundin­g roads, and that Aldi wanted to avoid this with a new larger site. He said, if approved, the company would aim to open the new store by June 2025.

Councillor­s said there should be a pedestrian and cycling link between the two supermarke­ts and this was to be explored by council officers outside of the meetings. The Aldi supermarke­t was approved by councillor­s by a vote of 10 votes in favour and three councillor­s abstaining.