A Biddulph Town Council discussion about Aldi's plans to build a new supermarket in the town was held in public, after initially being marked as confidential.

The discussion took place at a meeting of the council's Planning Committee on Zoom last night (Tuesday), and was broadcast live for members of the public to watch on Facebook.

The agenda item relating to Aldi was originally marked as private, meaning the public would not have been able to view the discussion.

However, after residents questioned why the item had been marked as confidential, the discussion took place in public, with councillors hoping to keep the matter as transparent as possible.

At the meeting, Cllr Charlie Smith asked: "Is it possible to keep this item public in the spirit of transparency? We've already advised approval, so now it falls to the district council to approve it."

Committee chair Cllr David Hawley explained why the item had been marked as confidential, saying: "The discussion that will take place is how we can improve the site, and it could potentially include financial and commercially sensitive issues, which is why we marked it as confidential."

Cllr Nigel Yates also made the call for transparency, saying: "We're not discussion any particular financial transactions, and the details that we want to go through would be good to be aired and open."

And this view was echoed by Biddulph's mayor, Cllr John Jones, who added: "I know there are some factions that are accusing us of holding this development up, which is far from the truth, so I think we should do anything we can to be transparent."

Councillors then voted to hold the discussion in public.

Cllr Hawley then explained the matters the authority had been negotiating with Aldi, the first of which included concerns about potential disruption to James Bateman Middle School, which neighbours the proposed supermarket site.

He said: "We have had a meeting with Aldi, and they have responded to the points we have raised. They say communications have now opened with James Bateman Middle School about the safety of children and the site, and the condition of the playing field. It would now appear it wasn't Aldi who left it in that state, but another competitor. I think a lot of this has now been resolved."

Cllr Jill Salt welcomed the resolution, saying: "I'm really pleased they've opened communications and resolved numerous issues."

The town council's chief officer, Sarah Haydon, explained plans to set up a bus route to allow public transport access onto the site.

She said: "Public transport is not currently going anywhere near the site, so bus users can't get to it without walking. We have made enquiries about the retention of land adjacent to the site, and the county council are happy to discuss having a lease with us to facilitate a bus route through it."

Councillors praised the idea, calling it an "essential factor" to incorporate into the site.

However, the chief officer also warned that the plans may come with a cost to the town council, with the county council saying they had not committed any of the money they had received from selling the land to Aldi to be spent in Biddulph.

She added: "I have been informed that none of the money the county council received for the Aldi site has been ring-fenced to be spent in Biddulph. There may well be some costs to the town council, which we could certainly justify, but I wouldn't say that this is going to be cost free."

Cllr Jones replied: "I'd certainly want us to go after that money, because I want to see some of it spent in Biddulph."

Rounding the discussion off, Cllr Hawley said: "I would suggest starting discussions with the other councils, Aldi, and the bus companies to ensure this scheme be progressed."

A discussion also took place around the proposed supermarket's red brick design, which some councillors felt would not fit in with the surrounding area.

Aldi defended the design, and councillors agreed to let it stand.

To view the discussion in full, visit the town council's Facebook page here.

Biddulph Nub News reported previously how Biddulph Town Councillors had recommended the application for approval, subject to a range of concerns.

The final decision on the application will be made by Staffordshire Moorlands District Council's Planning Committee at a meeting on Thursday, 15th October.

The German supermarket giant submitted an application to Staffordshire Moorlands District Council in June to build a new store on the site of the former Meadows Special School off Tunstall Road.

The school was destroyed in a fire in 2004, and was later relocated to Leek.