10 June 20021
By Elaine Murphy
elaine@TheCork.ie
For many years Lidl have been the only German discount retailer in County Cork’s largest town – Carrigaline – now Aldi will finally arrive at the old Carrigaline Pottery site. The town of Carrigalne already has a SuperValu and Dunnes Stores, but no Tesco. The Aldi store will be part of a larger development which will link Main Street to the new Western Relief Road.
A study* of shoppers living or working within 5km of Aldi’s planned new store on Main St, Carrigaline by leading independent market research agency Behaviour and Attitudes has shown overwhelming support for Aldi’s arrival.
92% of shoppers interviewed believe having an Aldi store in the area would mean better value grocery shopping. Almost 9 out of 10 shoppers (85%) claimed they are happy to hear Aldi is planning to open a store in the area, with a further 88% stating it would encourage them to shop in their local area.
89% of shoppers surveyed in Carrigaline agreed Aldi had chosen a central and convenient site on Main St., with 93% stating the opening of the store would generate much needed local employment. 96% agreed that they like that Aldi buys and sell Irish products.
The research findings were revealed as Aldi unveiled plans for its new store on Main St., Carrigaline, on the site of the old Carrigaline Pottery which closed in 1979 after more than 50 years in business, during many of which it was the main source of employment in the town. Up to 50 jobs will be created during the construction period of the new Aldi store, with 30 permanent positions available upon opening.
Featuring Aldi’s award-winning Project Fresh layout, the 1,315 sq. metre store will be powered by 100% green electricity and will feature 52 Photovoltaic solar panels located on the roof. In addition, Carrigaline shoppers will also benefit from two electric vehicle charging points at the new store along with 12 bicycle rack stands.
The new store forms part of a larger Masterplan for the town centre site. Public consultation on the Masterplan is now open and runs until Monday, June 28th. To help inform the consultation process, Aldi has made the Masterplan available to view online: https://www.aldi.ie/about-aldi/property/carrigaline. Contact details for observations or queries can be found here.
The plans, developed with Deady Gahan Architects Ltd, outline an ambitious vision for furthering the growth of Carrigaline’s town centre, including a new public plaza for the local community, a café, almost 80 residential units, and opportunities to develop further dining and leisure space. There will be ample pedestrian and vehicle access through the site, both north / south and east / west, to ensure customers can easily access Carrigaline town centre.
The north and west of the proposed development will border the Carrigaline Western Relief Road, which is expected to be complete by late 2022.
Aldi have a website for the development https://www.aldi.ie/about-aldi/property/carrigaline, which includes a 58 page PDF entitled ‘Carrigaline Masterplan’ from a firm of Town Planners, and other experts.
Commenting, Colin Breslin, Regional Managing Director, Aldi Ireland said: “Our research shows the demand from shoppers for a new Aldi store in Carrigaline is very clear. Every new Aldi store that opens brings greater choice, quality and value to shoppers.”
“Our public consultation is now open for members of the public to get in touch if they have anything they would like clarified under the plans. At Aldi, we always listen to our customers and the local communities our stores serve so we are keen to hear the public’s views.”
Aldi’s 23 stores and distribution centre in Cork are deeply involved with their local communities. To date, the stores and distribution centre have donated over 311,000 meals to local charities through FoodCloud, saving the charities more than €391,000. Each store is also part of Aldi’s Community Grants network, with Cork Animal Care Society, Féileacáin and St. Joseph’s Foundation Charleville some of the many local charities that have availed of the €500 bursary grant in recent years.
Aldi partners with 35 innovative food and drink producers across Cork, spending €68.5 million with them in 2020. Aldi is committed to growing its Irish supply base and increasing the number of locally-produced Irish products available at its stores.
*About the Study
The study involved a quantitative on-street survey of 276 shoppers living or working within 5km of Aldi’s planned ‘Project Fresh’ store on Main Street, Carrigaline. Fieldwork was undertaken between 24th July & 10th August, 2020.