A NEW Aldi supermarket is set to open in Pontypool in September, but will create fewer jobs than previously estimated.

Plans for the new store at Skewfields, next to the McDonald’s roundabout, were approved by Torfaen councillors in December 2018, against the advice of planning officers.

A previous application for the site had been refused in 2017 over concerns it would hit traders in the town centre and due to traffic worries.

Concerns over accessing the site by public transport, walking or cycling were also raised by council planners who recommended refusal.

But supporters of the proposal said the new store would bring more choice to shoppers, and will mean they do not have to travel elsewhere to visit the supermarket.

Building work on the store is now progressing, with a new sign for the discount supermarket having recently gone up at the site.

An Aldi spokeswoman said: “Construction for our new Pontypool store is progressing well as we move towards opening in September this year.

“This will create up to 20 jobs for the community and enable local people to shop and save closer to home.”

Aldi said in its planning application that the store would bring up to 40 new permanent jobs in the town, as well as employment generated in the construction phase, which was welcomed by council planners.

The supermarket has been asked why the figure has been revised down to 20.

Quantity surveyors Owen Associates wrote on its website in February that the new store is due for handover on September 9.

A post on its blog says that a “grand opening” will then be held the following week.

The development will come with a customer car park with 112 spaces, offering convenience goods such as food and also more expensive items such as furniture and televisions, according to the approved application.