Plymouth's gigantic new Aldi supermarket will open soon as date revealed
Plymouth’s latest Aldi supermarket is to open later this month in the city’s new £19m shopping centre - now named Bravo Way. The German-owned chain will start trading from its new store in Derriford on October 24, with giveaways for the first customers.
The new outlet, the company’s fifth in Plymouth, will be run by store manager Ian Ramirez, and 37 staff. To celebrate a partnership between ParalympicsGB and Aldi, Paralympic gold medallist Reece Dunn will cut a ribbon on opening morning and give away complimentary bags of fresh fruit and vegetables from Aldi’s Super 6 range to the first 30 customers in the queue.
The supermarket - which will open from 8am to 10pm Monday to Saturday, and from 10am to 4pm on Sunday - will offer fresh, British meat products with weekly offers, Aldi’s award-winning Specially Selected range, exclusive beers, wines and spirits, and a Food to Go section at the front of the store. Aldi’s Specialbuys will also be available in the middle aisle every Thursday and Sunday, offering a range of products from electrical items to garden tools.
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In addition to Aldi and M&S, PureGym, Pets Corner, Oggy Oggy and Costa Coffee are all moving in at what has been until now called the Derriford District Centre, on the site of the former Seaton Barracks. Dates for the openings of other stores have yet to be confirmed.
Mr Ramirez said: “We can’t wait to open the doors to the new store in Plymouth. It’s set to be a special day and having Paralympic hero Reece Dunn join us will make it a morning to remember.”
The new Aldi store is calling on charities and food banks in Plymouth to register with Neighbourly, a community engagement platform that links businesses to charitable organisations. Charities that register will be able to collect surplus food and perishable products, such as fruit, vegetables and baked goods, seven days a week. Charitiesshould email aldi@neighbourly.com.
Mr Dunn said: “I’m so excited to be opening Aldi’s new store. It will be great to chat to customers and a lovely way for me to thank Aldi for its support of ParalympicsGB.”
Work only began on the ambitious shopping centre in June last year, with Devon Contractors in charge of the build. The first steel frames, for units one to three, went up in August last year and a second set of steel frames, for units four to six, were in place just before Christmas.
In the first block, units one to three are being filled by Aldi, Oggy Oggy and M&S. Aldi has a 1,317sq m supermarket, with a 347sq m warehouse in the back.
The Oggy Oggy outlet is 93sq m and the M&S store has a vast sales floor of 1,302sq m, only slightly smaller than Aldi, but with a larger warehouse of 554m sq.
The Pets Corner, PureGym and Costa Coffee drive-through are in a separate block. Pets Corner will fill 186sq m of space, with Costa Coffee taking up 128sq m and will have indoor seating but also a drive-through, with cars literally driving through the building, underneath the first floor PureGym, and stopping at a kiosk.
The gym will have a reception area sandwiched between Pets Corner and Costa on the ground floor, but above it has the entire first floor of the building, 898sq m, which will be split into sections for a studio, a flex area, a free weights zone and the main gym.
A huge car park, with ANPR cameras and electric charging points, has been created. A road runs into Bravo Way, with cars entering and exiting the car park from the road that runs behind The Range building.
Buses will be able to drive through the District Centre and exit through Derriford Business Park, travelling on to Derriford Hospital. There will also be a cycle route.
The site, formerly a Royal Marines parade ground, had remained derelict for more than 20 years and unused, except as a Covid test centre until the redevelopment project began.
In May 2023, council leader Tudor Evans signed a decision to spend £1m of borrowed cash to unblock the project as it was hit by rising construction costs. The council was already funding the development to the tune of £18.9m after costs leaped from the £17.86m allocated in 2021.
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