DISCOUNT supermarket chain Aldi is interested in taking up three sites in Colchester where Tesco had planned to build new stores.

Aldi has confirmed it is looking at possible sites in the town, including those in Butt Road, Mersea Road and Cotman Road upon which Tesco had designs.

Falling sales and profits over the past year led to Tesco’s January announcement it was closing some stores and putting some sites it had planned to develop back on the market.

The Cotman Road site is owned by the Hills Building Group, which was acting on behalf of Tesco, and the news has prompted neighbours to push for a meeting with Hills over its plans for the store.

An Aldi spokesman said: “Colchester remains a town of interest.

“We are considering other opportunities in the town. We look forward to bringing further retail choice to Colchester and providing shoppers with high-quality products at everyday low prices.”

The Gazette asked all the big supermarket chains if they were be interested in any of the former Tesco sites, or other locations in the town. Waitrose, Sainsbury’s and Asda all said they had no plans to expand, as they already had stores in the area.

Lidl said it was already building a store in Gosbecks Road, but was unable to say if it might look to build elsewhere in the town.

All three Tesco developments sites already have planning permission, which means work on a new store could start almost immediately, so long as the development was in line with that given permission.

Any store chains wishing to build something different would need to apply to Colchester Council for permission Some local people have already voices concerns about the prospect of Aldi taking over.

Chelsea Holland, who lives in Blenheim Park, next to the Butt Road store site, said: “I would worry about the traffic it would bring.

“The Aldi in London Road can be a nightmare sometimes, traffic- wise.”

Jo McRae, of Kensington Road, added: “I’m against a supermarket.

“We already have Sainsbury’s and can drive to the bigger ones or have things delivered. I’d still like to see them build a walk-in medical centre, a nice restaurant and a few smaller shops.”