The pre-let agreement to bring Aldi to Wokingham’s regenerated town centre has now been signed.
The successful supermarket follows boutique cinema chain Everyman Cinemas and Premier Inn as early sign-ups to Wokingham’s town centre. More announcements will follow as the borough council completes more of its ongoing negotiations.
Cllr Mark Ashwell, executive member for planning and regeneration, said: "Aldi is just the first of the announcements for 2017 and over the coming months there’s going to be a lot of excitement as people start to see the businesses interested in opening units in Wokingham. We’ve been really pleased with the level of interest in the town centre, from both national and independent retailers, and that’s before we have even started to actively market the development. The aim is to make Wokingham stand out as offering something different from our larger neighbours and we’re confident we can create something that better reflects Wokingham's identity as one of the best places to live in the country.
"The regeneration proposals are all about delivering a better town centre for our local residents, creating something which offers them great variety and quality alongside fantastic new community spaces for entertainment and events. We’ve been working closely with Strutt and Parker, one of the country’s leading retail advisors, to make sure our designs will attract the right types of businesses, making sure there are units which will attract the niche and independent retailers as well as the larger names.
“We’re really pleased to see Aldi come to Wokingham as part of our scheme and feel they will be a great fit, complimenting what’s already on offer and bringing something new to the town. As a brand Aldi continues to go from strength to strength, winning awards for their food and drink across the board, including being named Which? Best Supermarket of the year a record four times."
An Aldi spokesperson said: “We are pleased to be working with Wokingham Borough Council and supporting the regeneration of Wokingham town centre. We look forward to opening our doors so customers can shop and save closer to home."
The council is currently in the process of procuring a contractor to carry out the works at Elms Field with the intent to start on site in summer 2017. The phasing of the works for Aldi will be agreed as part of the procurement discussions, but it is thought the new store could be open by Christmas 2018.
