ALDI has declined to comment "at this point" on news that a Ledbury County Councillor is assisting a planning officer in looking at Lawnside as an alternative site for a new Aldi supermarket.

But the supermarket giant says it will continue to liaise closely with both the local community and Herefordshire Council, while its application for a store on the News Mill Industrial Estate is being considered.

The Aldi application was set to be discussed by Ledbury Town Council at a full town council meeting in the Methodist Church this Thursday, April 7, from 7.30pm.

But Cllr Andrew Warmington, the town and county councillor who has been assisting planning officer, Roland Close in looking at Lawnside, has already let it be known that he will not vote there, either way.

In an email to The Ledbury Reporter, Cllr Warmington said: "I could vote on it at Ledbury Town Council, but will not do so in order to reserve my position for Herefordshire Council. So actually, I'm not voting on it at any point."

And when the application finally comes before Herefordshire Council's planning committee, for a final decision, Cllr Warmington will not be able to vote either way, under the regulations, because he is ward councillor; but he will be able speak either for or against the application.

A heated public debate has arisen after an email was leaked which revealed that Cllr Warmington has asked fellow town councillors for their knowledge of the Lawnside site, to assist planning officer, Roland Close, in his deliberations.

Under planning law, through a complicated process called "sequential testing", a site closer to the town centre must be preferred to an 'out of town' site, and if Lawnside can be shown to be a "deliverable" site for a supermarket, then Herefordshire Council's planning committee would have grounds for rejecting the site favoured by Aldi, on the New Mills industrial estate, off Ledbury bypass.

Cllr Warmington, in his email to town councillors, said: "Now that the Aldi application is live, I am working with Roland Close of Herefordshire Council's Planning department on issues related to it. One key one will be the sequential assessment test as to whether the

only feasible alternative, the Lawnside site, is available and deliverable."

Cllr Warmington's email has led to some fears, expressed on social media sites, including Facebook's 'The Voice of Ledbury", that Cllr Warmington has revealed a preference for the Lawnside site, and that his response to the Aldi application, for the New Mills Industrial site, has already been determined.

One Ledbury resident, posting on The Voice of Ledbury this week, said to Cllr Warmington: "My instincts tell me that you would favour a Lawnside development at the end of the day. I could be totally wrong of course.

"Confirmation on the Voice of Ledbury could clear things up for everyone with similar instincts as mine."

Cllr Warmington, in response said: "That would be pre-determination. Exactly what I was so falsely accused of."

Strong opinions have also been posted against the idea of a supermarket at Lawnside.

One resident posted: "Surely this idea isn't still being seriously considered? The gridlock it would cause in the town centre would be awful and the thought of lorries barrelling up and down Bridge Street and Lower Road or trying to turn by the clock tower in order to reach it is frankly frightening. "

In response to the ongoing public debate, concerning Cllr Warmington's email to town councillors, an Aldi spokesman said: “Aldi does not wish to comment on this point, but will continue to liaise closely with the local community and Herefordshire Council as the application is being considered.”