THE creation of a new Aldi store in Tynedale was part of a close to £5m investment in Northumberland from the supermarket chain.

In addition to the recently opened store in Prudhoe, Aldi has announced it is planning to have a presence in Northumberland as part of a £4.8m scheme which would see up to 60 jobs created over the two sites.

This investment is part of the supermarket’s long-term target to reach 1,200 stores in the UK by 2025.

Giles Hurley, chief executive officer at Aldi UK and Ireland, said: “We have been investing in Britain for more than 30 years now, but we know that there are still areas that either don’t have an Aldi at all, or that need another store to meet customer demand.

“With shoppers increasingly looking to make sure they get unbeatable prices on their weekly shop without compromising on quality, our stores are becoming ever more popular.

This investment in Aldi stores over the course of this year will help make the UK’s lowest-priced supermarket more accessible to even more people, and bring us closer to our long-term goal of having 1,200 stores across the UK by 2025.”

Last summer, Aldi announced it was looking for new store locations in two Northumberland towns =- Morpeth and Ponteland – as part of its longer-term expansion plans.

The supermarket has also announced plans to increase the amount of food and drink it buys from British suppliers by £3.5bn a year by 2025, as it continues its rapid expansion across the UK.

Aldi is also investing £500m in new and upgraded stores, distribution centres and its supply chain in 2021, which will create over 4,000 jobs as well as new opportunities for British food and drink producers.