Plans to build a discount supermarket on a business park in Great Notley will hamper employment in the district, it is feared.

Budget supermarket chain Aldi has applied for a 12,000 sq ft store with 89 car parking spaces at the entrance of the Skyline 120 business park, which would create 40 to 50 jobs.

However, Braintree Council is concerned that the store would put off firms setting up in the business park as well as taking up space allocated for business use.

The authority’s economic development manager, Ian MacDougall, said the economic development team would not support the application.

He wrote in response to the application: “The site in question is a gateway site to one of the district’s premier employment and business locations, benefitting from planning designation as an employment site and with no allocation for the use proposed.

“The development of a retail outlet would reduce the amount of employment space available in the district.

“A retail development on this site is also likely to act as a deterrent to attracting value added employers and may discourage futher investment by existing businesses in the area."

See this week's Braintree Times for the full story.