DISCOUNT supermarket Aldi has submitted plans for a new store in Upton, which it claims would “ensure it does not become a suburb of Poole”.

The retailer is requesting permission from Dorset Council to build a store at a former industrial site in Blandford Road where the Upton Oil company was based.

The site has been derelict now for some time.

It was in the news recently after travellers set up camp there, despite demolition workers building barricades to prevent more arriving on the site.

In its planning application, Aldi said the public consultation for its proposals generated “one of the largest response rates we have seen for Aldi in the region”.

“It demonstrates that a significant majority of respondents are in support of the Aldi scheme,” the company said.

There are currently no other Aldi stores within the Purbeck district, and “large amounts of trade are drawn away from Upton by Poole, which affords greater shopping opportunities,” Aldi’s planning application states.

“This puts Upton at risk if adequate retail provision is not provided,” it continues.

“The proposals are an excellent opportunity to deliver a discount food store on a vacant brownfield site, which will enforce Upton’s own identity and ensure it does not become a suburb of Poole.”

The site for the proposed store is off a busy road and less than 200 yards away from Upton Roundabout on the A35.

Aldi says one of the “key constraints” for its scheme was the proximity of the main road. A priority T-junction on Blandford Road, with a ‘ghost island’ right turn lane, is being proposed to improve safety at the site entrance, as well as a new pedestrian crossing.

Aldi said the new store would have 132 customer car parking spaces.

More than 30 new local jobs would be created, the company added.

“The proposals will address the limited discount food store provision in the area,” Aldi said, “reducing the need to travel to towns outside of Upton”.