POLITICANS and business organisations have welcomed plans for a multi million pound redevelopment of Alexandria town centre.

The plans, believed to an investment of nearly £9m in the area, include a new supermarket, housing and retail units and were unveiled last week by Supermarket giant Lidl.

The company has announced plans to build a new store in the area with the potential to create up to 40 new jobs.

And there are also plans for up to 26 new social rent apartments- and a 10-store retail parade.

Work on the new store, if approved, could start in Spring 2018.

CCG (Scotland) Ltd and Lidl UK have already submitted a pre-application notice to West Dunbartonshire Council ahead of a future planning application for the retail and residential redevelopment of the Mitchell Way site in Alexandria Town Centre.

Working in partnership with architects Cooper Cromar and Glasgow based developers Kinsgmead Developments, the proposed project consists of a Lidl Discount Supermarket, a 10 store retail parade and a 26 apartment flatted development for social rent.

West Dunbartonshire Council SNP group leader Jonathan McColl told The Reporter: "This expression of interest is a vote of confidence in our local community.

"I welcome these initial plans and I’m sure the community would agree that we all look forward to seeing Lidl’s detailed plans during the public consultation."

CCG development manager, Bruce Lindsay, said: “The proposed application is an important milestone in the redevelopment of the town of Alexandria and an exciting first for CCG. The Group has extensive experience in delivery of mixed use projects, particularly with affordable housing, but having Lidl as our operator/partner is a welcome new step.

“CCG is presently on-site at Second Avenue, Clydebank, with a further affordable housing scheme comprising of 40 units on behalf of the Council and we are proud to continue our work in this area to bring quality, affordable housing and additional facilities to the people of West Dunbartonshire.”

And Damon Scott, chief executive of Dunbartonshire Chamber of Commerce, said: "We welcome investment and job creation in the area that generates a wider benefit and are actively involved with the business community in the area to this end.

"We are keen to continue to work with our partners and local businesses to support a growth and regeneration strategy for Alexandria town centre.

"It is certainly encouraging that national retailers continue to show strong interest in committing to the area, creating jobs and ultimately helping to boost the economy."

The proposed new Lidl store, which would be located on Bank Street as part of the proposed redevelopment of Alexandria’s town centre, represents a multi-million pound investment in the local area.

Lidl has committed to building a 2,000m² store on a 10,693m² site, with plans to create up to 40 new jobs.

The supermarket will boast state of the art facilities including an instore bakery, customer toilets and ample parking for both cars and bicycles.

Dumbarton and the Vale's Scottish Labour MSP Jackie Baillie, said: "This is great news for Alexandria. The previous Labour-led Council made the transformation of our town centres a top priority by investing heavily in regeneration and encouraging businesses to invest in West Dunbartonshire.

"The proposed new LIDL supermarket, alongside 10 new retail units for small businesses and 26 new homes for social rent, forms the cornerstone of the regeneration plans for Mitchell Way.

"We must continue to invest in our town centres to create much-needed jobs for local people and increase footfall to support retailers in Alexandria, Balloch and Dumbarton."

Lidl UK’s head of property for Scotland, Gordon Rafferty, said: “We are delighted to be opening a new store in Alexandria, which marks another milestone in our ambitious store expansion programme. We’ve seen incredible demand for Lidl stores across the country and look forward to offering our quality products and incredible value to shoppers in and around Alexandria.

“We are firmly committed to helping boost the local economy by creating new jobs and working with local suppliers in the construction of the new store. The planned store in Alexandria will add to Lidl’s existing store portfolio of 650, and will form part of the company’s growth plans which hope to see this increase to 1,500 store in the future.”

CCG and Lidl UK will soon announce a date for a public consultation where plans will be presented to the community of Alexandria.

Feedback will then be used to take the plans forward to enable a spring-2018 site start.