Aldi submits objections and duplicates as part of letters of 'support' for Amersham store

Aldi wants to build a 1,195 square metre store and car park with electric charging facilities on London Road in Amersham. The discount retailer applied for permission from Buckinghamshire Council three years ago, but the development was delayed by objections from the Environment Agency and the Lead Local Flooding Authority.

According to the case officer’s report, published at the end of April, the committee received "over 1,500 letters of support" from residents. However, some letters labelled as letters of support contain objections to the proposals, such as a submission by one respondent on 24 May 2022, who wrote: "There is no need for another supermarket in Amersham. Think again."

Over a quarter of the 190 letters of support submitted since 20 May 2022 contain no address. Others contain a postcode from outside the area, including one from 24 miles away, in Ilford.

The majority of the letters are survey responses acquired through a website owned by Meeting Place, a public relations firm, which asks anyone who visits the website: "In a line or two, why would you like an Aldi in Amersham?" The responses are then submitted to the planning committee on behalf of Aldi.

At a meeting on Tuesday 30 April, the planning committee elected to postpone its decision to allow planning officers to negotiate and consider the conditions. The committee asked Aldi to reconsider the design and the number of car parking spaces in the proposals.

Speaking at the meeting, Dan Templeton, a planning agent for Aldi, stated: "The application has received a huge number of representations from local residents, the overwhelming majority of whom support the application and want to see the store delivered."

When asked about the letters of support, a spokesperson for Buckinghamshire Council stated: "We are not able to provide a comment at this stage as we do not comment on live applications."

The agent, Planning Potential, did not respond to requests for comment.