A bid to build a supermarket on the Beehive Roundabout is to be decided at a later date after it was delayed this week.

Aldi applied for planning permission for a site at the junction of Chorley New Road and De Havilland Way in early 2022.

In late 2022, The Bolton News reported it was on the back burner because of a multi-million-pound bid by the council to the Department of Levelling Up for work on De Havilland Way. This multi-million-pound bid by the council was rejected last year.

However, this week it was back on the agenda because it was up for approval by the planning committee at the town hall.

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A report said: "It is considered the development complies with the development plan. 

"Therefore, the application is recommended for approval, subject to a unilateral undertaking which the applicant will submit to the council in due course regarding Biodiversity Net Gain."

(Image: Aldi)

The bid to build a supermarket is to be decided at a later date due to follow-up objections to the application from Lidl, and from Tesco, after both had initial objections to the application.

Aldi said it wanted a right of reply to these follow-up objections which it said were "clearly commercially motivated".

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A report said: "Neither objection raises any significant points but Aldi wishes a right to reply and to refute the points in detail. Given the late submission this is not possible before the meeting."

Previously David Grant, leader of Horwich and Blackrod First, said: "There was a £20m bid a number of years ago to improve the Beehive Roundabout and in the report it said the roundabout was at capacity. 

"This report [to the planning committee] says it will not have an adverse impact on the traffic which is absolute nonsense in my opinion. If you build a supermarket people are going to go to the supermarket."

Cllr Grant said: "They mention the impact on Horwich town centre but they do not mention the impact on Blackrod town centre.

"It is a small town centre but there are two butchers, there are a number of convenience stores, and these could be impacted too."

This article was written by Jack Tooth. To contact him, email jack.tooth@newsquest.co.uk or follow @JTRTooth on Twitter.