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Aldi set to build new store a former Waitrose

Store wars could be breaking out in Sutton Coldfield when a second discount supermarket takes over a former Waitrose store in Mere Green.

A new Aldi will soon join the new Lidl supermarket currently under construction in Mere Green, the discount rival bringing a fourth supermarket into Mere Green, together with Sainsbury’s and Marks & Spencer. Include Poundland, which also sells food and groceries, and there will be five.

While building work progresses on Lidl at the former Lucas site on Mere Green Road, rival German firm Aldi has secured the Waitrose store on Belwell Lane and could convert the premises into its third store in Sutton Coldfield.

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It would not be the first Waitrose store to have been snapped up by Aldi as the John Lewis chain has struggled with falling sales over the years. It bought up a former Waitrose in Camden, London in 2018.

The store in Belwell Lane, which has been an upmarket grocery store feature for four decades, is part of the Atlas House block which also houses the Flints bar and various offices with a large car park to the rear.

It is thought to have been snapped up for just £1. A spokesman for Aldi would not confirm nor deny this but said:  “We are always looking for and considering sites for our future stores network.”

The move could spark more anger with local residents as traffic would certainly increase again in and around Mere Green island adding to fears of traffic chaos with the new Lidl coming on line in the next couple of months.

The last time there were more than two supermarkets in Mere Green dates back to before the construction of Mulberry Walk, when the area hosted an Aldi, which is now Sainsbury’s, Waitrose and a Safeway store which was demolished as part of the new development.