THE supermarket chain Aldi is taking over a former Safeway supermarket, which closed on Saturday after 21 years of trading.

The company revealed that it was in the process of buying the site in St George's Place, Canterbury, and plans to open late summer or early autumn next year.

The German-owned chain sells own-brand products. It claims its prices are about 30 per cent lower than its rival supermarkets.

A spokesman said: "I can confirm that we are buying the site. We have no date for opening yet but it will probably be late summer or autumn next year. I cannot give any more information at this stage."

Morrisons declined to comment. Owners of businesses in St George’s Centre – part of the site owned by Morrisons – have yet to hear officially who their new landlord will be.

In fact Phil Ritson, who owns Canterbury Hi Fi, said he still hadn’t received official notification that Safeway was closing.

"Last week I got a letter confirming the Christmas trading times for the Safeway store, which actually closed on Saturday," said Mr Ritson.

He is concerned at the length of time the store will be closed for: "Safeway provided us with a steady stream of passing trade. We have noticed a drop already," he said.

"It could not have come at a worse time. November, December and January are our busiest months. Customer flow is definitely down on what it should be for the time of year."

Next door at AK Enterprise newsagents, co-owner Nipurna Amin has started selling milk and sandwiches to plug a gap in the market left by Safeway’s closure.

She said students were still coming in but the shop had lost its stream of regular customers who went in after shopping at Safeway.