Councillors have overturned officers' objections and approved a new flagship Aldi store.

The discount supermarket had warned it would pull out of Sheppey altogether if councillors had turned down the application.

The chain wants to close existing premises in the centre of Sheerness and open a bigger, more modern store on farmland next to the out-of-town Neats Court retail park in Queenborough.

Planning officer Paul Gregory had recommended refusal saying closing the current shop will have a detrimental effect on the town.

But Aldi warned that the existing 1.2-acre site between Pepys Avenue and Millennium Way was too small and would be closed anyway. It has already agreed to sell the plot to Home Bargains.

After a campaign asking Islanders to email all of Swale council's 16-strong planning committee, members agreed 14 to 1, with one abstention, last night (Thursday)to give the supermarket the go-ahead.

The about-turn came after Sittingbourne and Sheppey MP Gordon Henderson intervened, writing to the council to voice his "concern" about the refusal recommendation.

He said: "I believe turning down the Aldi application, which incidentally has already been approved once, will have an impact on jobs and the wider Sheppey community.

"Refusal would also send out entirely the wrong message to Aldi who invested a lot of money in the Island when they based their Regional Distribution Centre at Neats Court creating hundreds of jobs.

"They have made it clear that if their application is turned down they will no longer have a retail presence on the Island. That would not only mean the loss of the jobs in their existing store but the extra jobs created by a larger relocated store."

He said turning down the application would be "illogical" because the retailer had made it clear it was quitting Sheerness and that Home Bargains would be a "positive impact" on the town and the Island "as a whole".

Some objectors claimed it would be difficult to get to Neats Court from Sheerness for those without cars. Mr Henderson said: "I have some sympathy with that view. However, Sheerness does have another two competitive major supermarkets, Tesco and the Co-op, so the impact of losing Aldi as a retailer would be minimal."

He added: "Unfortunately, I have no influence over the planning decision. However, I very much hope councillors ignore the planning officers’ recommendation and approve the Aldi application."

Cllr Cameron Beart (Con, Queenborough and Halfway) said: "I welcome the continued investment in Swale by Aldi and believe the planning committee made a well balanced and informed decision in granting the application for a second time.

"The new store will be a welcome addition to the Queenborough and Rushenden regeneration and will provide jobs and other wider benefits such as the new footpath and cycleway on Queenborough Road which I've been working on for a number of years.

"Soon we will have a suitable pedestrian and cycle route allowing safe travel from Queenborough to Minster."

The new £9million complex on 2.2 acres off the A249 Brielle Way opposite the Queenborough retail park will be a third larger than the existing premises with 59 (79%) extra parking spaces, new cycle and pedestrian links and 20 extra jobs on top of the 30 Sheerness ones which would be saved.

Rival supermarket chain Lidl has also submitted an application to build a store nearby at Cowstead Corner.

Aldi first began talks with Swale council about a new store in 2017 and submitted plans in June 2019 claiming its 15-year-old branch in Sheerness was "no longer fit for purpose".

It was given the go-ahead in November 2020 and construction was about to start when rival Tesco had the permission quashed in the High Court the following October. By then, Aldi had already put its Sheerness store on the market for £2 million.

Aldi's managing director Ben Shotter said: “We are delighted to have secured unanimous support from the planning committee for our store relocation on the Isle of Sheppey. Our customers on the Isle value the products that we offer and in the current cost of living crisis it is more important than ever that we continue to deliver the best possible value for millions of families across the country. Our relocation proposals represent a significant investment in Sheppey, not least the additional jobs that it will create. We look forward to delivering in due course. I would like to thank residents who have supported our proposals.”

A spokesman said work would begin "as soon as possible".