Diss Aldi store submits planning application for switch to former Norfolk Feather Company site

Aldi has forged ahead with a planning application to move in to the former Norfolk Feather Company site in Diss following a public consultation.

The application includes the demolition of existing buildings at the disused factory in Park Road, and will include the construction of a new retail store, associated car park, landscaping and access.

Having traded from its current Mere Street site – formerly a Co-Op store – for almost 10 years, Aldi, in seeking to explain the reasons behind the relocation bid, claims it is inhibited by “significant operational constraints”.

With its current lease due to expire in 2025, the discount chain has been exploring alternate sites, and has selected the former home of Norfolk Feather, just 250 metres away, as the ideal location.

With the pillow company having entered administration in October, Aldi described its planning proposal as “an opportunity to swiftly bring the site back in to beneficial commercial use”.

Included in the application is a 1,791 square-metre building, 102 customer parking spaces and the planting of 17 new trees, which will complement existing landscaping along the front of the site, as well as the addition of several bird nesting boxes and a pond.

The plans include around 50 full-time jobs, although the application does not state whether this would be an increase on current numbers.

The decision to move forward with the application comes after a public consultation was launched in December, with Aldi distributing brochures and questionnaires in a bid to gauge opinion.