"ALDI is coming" signs are set to go up in Thornbury shopping centre - even though the store chain is sworn to secrecy over its plans to open up in the town.

The German supermarket firm is effectively gagged by a confidentiality clause imposed by Somerfield who moved out of the St Mary Centre store last November.

Instead, the announcement to shoppers that the wait for the new Aldi store will soon be over is being made by shopping centre owners Peer Group, which is not bound by the legal red tape.

Town and district councillor Clare Fardell told a town council meeting: "Work on refitting the store is well underway and the owners of the shopping centre are quite happy to be open about Aldi's plans.

"They will be putting up banners saying 'Aldi is coming' so that no one will be in any doubt about it. They won't have the Aldi logo and no one is going to care that."

Concern has been mounting over the effects on the town's economy caused by the Somerfield closure.

The town council recently wrote to Peer Group and to bosses at Aldi appealing for information on how long Thornbury would be without its main town centre food store.

Peer Group confirmed that stripping out work on the store had begun and could take around 12 weeks to complete.

But the council has still not received a response from Aldi.

Cllr Clive Parkinson said Somerfield's action in imposing the confidentiality clause on Aldi had been "totally disgraceful".

"I'm appalled that any supermarket is able, or even prepared, to write such a clause into a contact when it will affect trading in the town it is leaving," he said.

"This sort of action certainly does not help towns where supermarkets are changing hands."

The meeting heard that plans for the library redevelopment scheme had been put on hold by South Gloucestershire Council.

The £6million scheme for a new library, retail and commercial development on the current library site in St Mary Street is stalled after would-be office tenants pulled out of the deal.

"For a start, the Library Service will not be ordering the book stock it would need for the new library," said Cllr Fardell. "They will also be proceeding with minor repairs to the existing building."

Officers were proceeding on the basis that work on a new library was not imminent, she said.

The meeting heard that talks would be held this month between Peer Group representatives and senior South Gloucestershire Council members and officials over the future of the shopping centre and the town's economic well-being.