A SUPERMARKET chain hoping to build a store on a mostly empty town centre site in Bromsgrove has been given extra time to make its case for the development.

The plans, for a new Aldi supermarket, had been due to go before Bromsgrove District Council’s planning committee on Monday, December 7, and were recommended for refusal by council officers, but now the council is offering the company an extension, with a final decision expected next year.

The Aldi store is planned for a site on Birmingham Road which currently houses Imagination Street play centre, as well as a now empty car showroom, and the plans had received strong support from the community during a public consultation in July, but the council officers recommended refusal for the plans, highlighting inadequate survey work and assessment of the site in relation to the possibility of bats living there.

A spokesman for Aldi, which already has one store on Sherwood Road in the town, said: “We are pleased that the council has agreed a time extension so we can work together to amend the plans. We look forward to bringing forward an updated proposal in the near future which works for all parties.

“A new store would play a major part in the regeneration of the area, offer residents in the north of Bromsgrove convenient access to a discount food store, and enable people to continue their shopping in the town centre.

“We would like to thank the local community for their continued support and we will hopefully be able to bring a second food store to Bromsgrove as soon as possible.”