Work has started on a controversial new Aldi store just days after plans were finally approved.

Contractors have moved onto a 1.85-acre plot in Kennington previously earmarked for a Miller & Carter steakhouse.

A number of vans and a digger have been spotted on the site off Canterbury Road, which used to be home to Houchin Sports and Social Club.

Opponents say the store, which has been in the works for four years and will be built between the M20 and Holiday Inn, will "negatively impact the already congested A28”.

But the scheme was unanimously approved by Ashford Borough Council’s (ABC) planning committee on March 13, with Aldi bosses saying a number of highway improvements will be introduced, including traffic lights at a new access point close to the M20 bridge.

Traffic lights will also be brought in at the junction with Cemetery Lane, which leads to Longacres Bybrook Barn, creating a staggered crossroads.

Aldi, which bought the Kennington plot in late 2019, opened its first store in Ashford in Victoria Road in 2018.

It then submitted plans for a second store in Waterbrook Avenue, just off the A2070, which have been approved.

However, a condition imposed by ABC means contractors cannot start work until progress is made on a separate convenience store on the nearby Finberry housing estate.

Aldi has since launched a petition against the move as it fears Finberry residents “will continue to have no local foodstore for several years”.

Residents in Finberry were sent letters about the petition, which is also being advertised in Aldi’s Victoria Road store.

Find out about planning applications that affect you by visiting the Public Notice Portal.

Plans for the Miller & Carter steakhouse were approved by ABC in 2019 but were dropped later that year.