PLANS for a new Aldi store in Pontypool have been given a boost after a nearby rugby club agreed to give up part of its leased land.

West Mon Rugby Club will receive £5,000 from Torfaen county borough council after agreeing to give up a strip of land, which they had under a 20-year lease.

This allows the council to sell it to Aldi with the rest of the development land at Skewfields, so the supermarket chain can create a footpath to link up with the wider pedestrian and cycleway network running next to the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal.

The council will sell the land to Aldi for £100,000.

Planning permission for the development was granted in 2018, however because a section 106 agreement was not signed within six months, the application it was brought back to the planning committee for this to be dealt with.

A section 106 agreement is designed to offset the impact of a development on the local community and infrastructure.

In this case it includes a £30,000 contribution to canal and embankment repairs to mitigate flood risk, a new cycleway and footpath, and a £25,000 contribution towards wider environmental improvements to the existing footpath network between the site and Griffithstown.

READ MORE:

The committee approved the agreement, and members shared their support for the plans.

“I know this one was particularly contentious at the time, but I am delighted all parties have come to an agreement on this," said Cllr Jason O’Connell.

“I am really pleased for the rugby club.”

Cllr Huw Bevan said the supermarket would be really important to people following the coronavirus pandemic.

“People are going to see more unemployment and it’s going to be tougher times ahead until we get a recovery in place,” he said.

“I think there’s going to be more access and more demand for this type of lower cost food, and I am glad that the planning department have been able to negotiate a happy compromise between the rugby club and the superstore.”