Property prices set for increase on Lewes Road corridor

Plans for a £6M refurbishment at an under-used retail park could add a healthy £5000 to property prices in the vicinity.

ALDI is looking to open a new store on the Pavilion Retail Park in Lewes Road, Brighton. A planning application for the unit expansion for Aldi and a coffee shop is set to be submitted within months with the possibility of opening next year. Research conducted by My Home Move compared the average house price for the three months prior to a new store opening, to the three months after found that property prices increase by an average of £5000. The ‘Aldi Effect’ represents a 2.5pc rise in value on the average UK home, although is not quite as appealing as ‘The Waitrose Effect’ where research by Lloyds found property values increase by nearly £40,000.

Councillors have welcomed the news to breathe new life into the struggling retail park where half of the units are currently vacant. ALDI said its new store would have a “modest” 1,100 square metres of sales area, less than half the size of the nearby Sainsbury’s, but would create up to 50 new jobs with the company looking to recruit locally. An ALDI spokeswoman said: “We are delighted to be progressing plans for a new ALDI in Brighton, to make it easier for local people to shop and save. We are encouraging local people to let us know there thoughts on the plans over coming weeks and after reviewing their comments we will finalise the application and submit an application to the council.

Doug Crawford, CEO of My Home Move says: “research has shown that a third of home movers chose their new property based on its proximity to shops and local amenities”. ALDI is now the UK’s fifth largest supermarket chain and is widely viewed as a haven for middle-class bargain hunters. Aldi is sure to be popular with student tenants and may have a positive effect on rent prices in the local area too.