A large supermarket chain is looking at setting up shop in a small town.

Aldi has revealed a list of places in Kent it hopes to add stores to and Cranbrook is one of them.

While the news may cause ripples of excitement not everyone is happy.

County councillor for Cranbrook Seán Holden (Con) said: "We have one of the highest concentration of listed buildings in the county, it has a lot of planning constraints so I don't know where they would put it.

"I am surprised they are continuing to build supermarkets when many retailers are facing an uncertain future due to online shopping.

"Commercially there is only room for one supermarket and we already have a big Co-op.

"In principle I don't have an objection to their being development in Cranbrook but it does have to be the right location."

The town is one of the smallest in Kent.

Despite no formal plans for the new development, a list of requirements for the ideal site have been issued by the company.

These include an area which is a minimum of 1.5 acres, ideally 2 acres, site to accommodate a 18,500 sq ft unit, 100 to 120 dedicated parking spaces and a spot near a town centre.
The list also details a third store for Maidstone, one for Tunbridge Wells and another in West Malling.

Other areas across Kent include: Broadstairs, Chatham, Deal, Faversham, Folkestone and Tenterden.

Margate, Ramsgate and Northfleet stores could also be re-located.

Sittingbourne is being knocked down and rebuilt while Sheerness is being moved to Queenborough.

There has notoriously been issues with supermarkets looking to build across the county.

Staplehurst was earmarked for a Sainsbury's store in 2011 but development still hasn't started.

In Dartford a Tesco was promised for nearly two decades before the sight was sold to housing developers.

The UK's fifth biggest supermarket, currently has 840 stores, and is aiming to have 1,200 sites by 2025.

It has been approached for comment.

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