A German supermarket giant is due to take over from a home-ware store that closed earlier this year in Bracknell.
The Homebase in Wokingham Road, near a BP fuel station and the town centre, closed on Saturday, March 1.
Part of the building is now due to be taken over by Aldi, the German supermarket chain.
The company has applied to sell food from the building in an application to Bracknell Forest Council.
A planning condition dating back to 1994 states that the building can only be used to sell non-food items.
Aldi would therefore need that condition to be removed to allow food and drinks to be sold.
Justifying the change, a planning agent from Avison Young wrote: “The core convenience retail offer within an Aldi store replicates the most regularly purchased items within a family’s weekly or ‘main’ food shopping trip.
“The vast majority of products stocked (approximately 90 per cent) are Aldi-branded compared with the 10-15 per cent that may be stocked by the mainstream grocers.
“This avoids passing on the cost of brand name marketing to the consumer.
“Moreover, because Aldi is concentrating on a limited number of product lines which it stocks consistently throughout its portfolio of 1,050 stores, it is able to benefit from economies of scale so that its goods can be sold at discounted prices, without impacting upon quality.”
The agent went on to explain Aldi’s offer does not provide butchers, fishmongers, delis and hot-food counters in the UK, setting it apart from Marks & Spencer and Waitrose supermarkets at The Lexicon.
Designs show Homebase being split into two units, with Aldi occupying a 1,361 sqm unit and a larger, 1,481 sqm unit left for another potential occupant.
Plans for the German supermarket have been in the works even prior to Homebase closing.
Aldi sought pre-application advice from the council in January this year, with officers advising that a planning application would be required to remove the condition.
The planning agent from Avison Young would be appropriately located, with other available locations in Bracknell being too small for Aldi’s requirements.
You can view the application by typing reference 25/00535/NMA into the council’s planning portal.
Aldi maintains a store at the Birch Hill Shopping Centre.
Earlier this year, the German supermarket giant announced expansion plans with Bracknell, Slough and Maidenhead being among the towns targeted.
At the time, a post on Aldi’s website stated: “Our sustained growth means we are continually expanding our real estate portfolio to help achieve our ever-growing goals for 2025 and beyond.
“We are willing to explore all opportunities including developer-led schemes and existing or new retail units. Our yield profile is increasingly adding value to developments.”
It is unclear what business is seeking to occupy the remaining unit at the old Homebase store.
