Aldi Elgin move to retail park would be ‘blow to residents and elderly’
Plans to move a national food retailer away from its current town centre location have been met with concern from regular shoppers.
Aldi is seeking to move its Elgin store from Trinity Place to a new unit at Elgin Retail Park on the outskirts of town.
The retailer says that its current location is “no longer fit for purpose” having previously explored ways of expanding the existing store.
However, new proposals would see the shop move into a unit with 400m² larger floorspace which is more than 50 per cent bigger than the current store.
Aldi says that the relocation represents an investment of £3 million within the local area, and will create approximately 10 new jobs as well as retaining all of the existing employees.
But concerns have been raised about the move with some claiming it could take away a vital “lifeline” for elderly people in the community as well as those who don’t drive.
Elgin resident Sandra Jamieson is among those in favour of retaining the current store’s location. She has sclerosis and does not have access to a vehicle.
“I’ve tried to get to where they are going to put the new store on a couple of occasions by bus and both times the bus didn’t turn up,” she said.
“The current Aldi is so convenient. It’s so close to the bus station as well.
“The town centre should be where we can go to get what we need.
“At the very least, if they do move, put something else in the building that’s not going to be dead expensive because Aldi is really quite good.”
Trinity Place is just a short walk away for residents of Bishopmill.
David Robertson is among those from the area who regularly use the store.
He said: “I actually think it could hurt their trade if they move.
“So many people from Bishopmill come through here to shop. A lot of them without cars.
“If they move then they’ll probably be forced to go to Tesco and it’s more expensive.
“I would certainly be in favour of them staying here. It’s easy for elderly people as well because you can see them using it a lot.
“It’s a bit of a nightmare getting over to that retail park where they want to go with all the traffic and so on.
“Add Aldi into it and it would probably get even worse.
“It’s going to be their decision not mine but all I’m saying is that it might be bad for business.”
Lorna Garden, who also stays in Bishopmill, added: “My personal view is that it’s a shame because it’s another business leaving the centre of town.
“It will be an inconvenience but to be honest I’ll probably have to just start going to Tesco or Marks and Spencer which isn’t ideal because Aldi is much handier for me.
“I think they might actually lose customers if they move.”
Shoppers from outwith Elgin have also expressed concerns about the proposed move.
Edith Grant from Forres often shops in the town.
She said: “They may as well just build another smaller one and have two smaller ones.
“This one is busy enough so I don’t know why we couldn’t have two and then everyone would be happy.
“It’s handy having it here because it’s so central for the people. Not everybody has got transport to go out to the outskirts of the town.”
Hopeman resident Dawn Smith added: “I think it’s a big deal for people who don’t have transport especially older people and disabled people. They’re almost taking away a lifeline by doing that.
“People get the bus in from around Moray and Aldi is central and right next to the bus station.
“Elderly people getting the bus and coming over here might be the only time they get out of the house and speak to people.
“They should be trying to keep it here.”
A planning application has not yet been submitted but Aldi is set to host a drop-in event on August 28 between 3pm and 7pm at Elgin Town Hall.
Members of the Aldi team will be on hand to discuss the development with members of the local community, answer any questions and collect feedback.
Councillor Peter Bloomfield (Elgin City South, Conservatives) is urging his constituents to get involved with the event.
He said: “There are obviously concerns from people that live in Bishopmill, especially the elderly that are able at the moment to walk there to shop.
“There's two sides to it, isn't there? There's the fact that it's on the outskirts of the town centre, moving to the other side of my ward, and it will create, they say, 10 new jobs.
“But it's the shock of it just being landed upon us and also what plans are in place for this store, if it was to go ahead, we don't know anything about that at all.
“That concerns me as well so I would encourage everybody to take part in the public consultation event.
“We’ll learn a lot more then I would think and hopefully these concerns can be addressed.”
