Discount retailer Aldi HAS engaged an estate agent to sell its Meredith Road store on the Whitton estate in Ipswich – despite saying earlier this week that there are no plans to shut the store.
We reported earlier this week that the company was planning to go ahead with building a new store in Europa Way off Sproughton Road. It said at that time that there were no plans to close the Whitton store.
MORE: Aldi to go ahead with new store in Ipswich
However now it has emerged that it has engaged Cambridge-based MP Real Estate to market the Whitton store. That has produced a sales brochure for the site which says it will be sold with full planning permission for use as a food store – although it suggests other possible uses including residential, leisure, as a care home or a pub.
The site was home to the Safe Harbour pub for 60 years until it was demolished in 1995 to make way for Aldi which opened its first store in Ipswich there in 1997.
The brochure says: “Vacant possession will be provided following construction and opening of the new Aldi store on Europa Way, currently estimated to be Q3 2020 (Aldi now says this will be early in 2021). This will give time for an interested party to progress a planning application should that be required.”
After saying earlier this week that there were no plans to close the Meredith Road store, Aldi issued a new statement saying: “We are currently reviewing our options for the future of the Meredith Road store once the Europa Way store has opened. We have not yet decided whether to close the store.”
However the brochure makes it clear it is for sale, saying: “The property is available freehold. Our clients are prepared to consider unconditional or conditional offers.”
There has also been speculation that Aldi is considering bidding to open a new store on the Anglia Retail Park off Bury Road. The park’s owner Ipswich Borough Assets has said it is hoping to attract a food store to the site of the former B&Q garden centre.
Aldi has said it does not comment on speculation about potential sites for new stores – but that has not stopped people asking whether they are interested in moving there. And the revelation that the company has engaged agents to sell the Meredith Road store will ramp up the speculation about a new store at the Anglia Retail Park further.
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