A MULTI-MILLION pound Aldi superstore is coming to an East Lancashire town.

Rossendale Council's development control committee gave the green light to an application on Henrietta Way in Bacup at their meeting on Tuesday night.

The scheme will bring between 40 and 50 full and part-time jobs to the area as well as funding in the local area.

Cllr Jimmy Eaton, who represents the Greensclough ward, says that the developers were looking to complete building the store in two years time.

He said: "This is going to be a good thing for the people of Bacup and surrounding areas and I feel this will create a lot more competition for supermarkets.

"It means that some stores may reduce their prices to compete which will be better for the customers.

"There were 161 letters of support of the application and also there were 456 letters of support by the applicants communications consultant.

"At the end of Henrietta Street, there are some concrete steps onto Rochdale Road but Aldi are going to give £7,000 to provide a handrail and lighting so it is safer people to walk to the store.

"Also they are giving £37,800 for a shared cycle and pedestrian route from Henrietta Street towards Lee Street, on land between Morrisons and the River Irwell.

"They also said there would be free car parking for Aldi and non-Aldi customers for three hours and that means people will be able to walk into town to shop too.

"We have shops struggling at this time but to be getting three hours parking will bring people from surrounding areas and they will be able to shop in Bacup."

In the planning statement it said: "The significant investment proposed by Aldi will see the redundant ‘gateway’ site redeveloped to provide a modern discount foodstore which is proportionate to future needs of Bacup.

"The scheme will dramatically enhance consumer choice and will provide much needed competition within the town’s food retail sector, reducing residents’ need to travel to the likes of Rawtenstall, Rochdale and Burnley to visit a discount foodstore.

"(The) Aldi foodstore is capable of functioning as a second retail anchor for the centre, which is capable of generating additional footfall and spin-off trade to the benefit of Bacup as a whole.

"This is particularly important given the council’s aspirations to transform the core of the district centre into a multipurpose food and drink, events and enterprise zone as part of the 2040 Vision."