A FIFTH supermarket could soon open in Clevedon if plans for a new Aldi are given the go-ahead.

An application has been submitted to North Somerset Council to change the use of a warehouse at Hither Green Industrial Estate to allow it to be used for retail.

Westway House is currently home to digital printer firm, Roland DG (UK), which uses some upstairs office space but is currently looking for a new base in the Clevedon area. The remaining warehouse space has been vacant for the past nine years.

If the planning application is approved, work would be carried out to rip out the interior fittings and install a new roof. The unit would then be divided into two spaces, the larger of which would be used for the Aldi store and the smaller used for a national pet retailer.

The existing car park would be resurfaced, new shop fronts and doors would be installed and landscaping would be carried out.

There would be 96 parking spaces and vehicles would access the site from Hither Green.

If given the go-ahead, this would be the fifth large supermarket to open in Clevedon alongside Asda, Lidl, Morrisons and Tesco.

Its possible introduction has been welcomed by Clevedon Chamber chairman David Hendey.

He said: “I don’t think it will impact on the smaller, independent market. It will probably impact on stores such as Tesco and Lidl which is a dog-eat-dog world anyway.

“It will bring some development back into the town. It will help with employment in the town.”

The two-store development is expected to generate a total of 35 new jobs, 17 of which would be full-time.

A statement submitted as part of the planning application says: “The proposed redevelopment of Westway House will bring a partly-occupied site back into economic use and provide retail units that will complement existing provision in the town; providing competition choice and convenience for local residents without threatening the vitality and viability of the town centre or any other centre; or threatening planning investment in the centre.”