Consultants working for Jempson’s have raised the prospect of litigation if Aldi’s plan to build a food store in Rye is approved. In a letter sent to Rother District Council dated September 12, Peacock & Smith (P&S) say failure to refuse the planning application could see “any approval being at risk of a legal challenge”.
The letter says the recent Nexus report for RDC found the Aldi proposal “has the potential to provide a significant adverse impact upon the health of the town centre”, with P&S pointing out that paragraph 95 of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) directs refusal where an application “is likely to have a significant adverse impact on one or more of the considerations in Paragraph 94”.
However, Peacock & Smith managing director Chris Creighton said the warning of a legal challenge — possibly involving a judicial review — was not as stark as it sounded, but that “it’s one option available” to his client Jempson’s, who would evaluate the planning process and decide what its next steps would be.
The planning position is not clear-cut. Paragraph 94 of the NPPF grants a degree of leeway to planning authorities by stating that any assessment of the impact on “town centre vitality and viability” has to include “local consumer choice and trade in the town centre and the wider retail catchment (as applicable to the scale and nature of the scheme)”.
Given that Jempson’s operates the only supermarket of any size in Rye, consumer choice will be a key consideration for Rother District Council’s planning team.
The independent Nexus report concluded that the council may choose to weigh various factors differently and take other considerations into account — such as the need for an improved food store offer, the Rye Neighbourhood Plan and public support for a second supermarket in Rye, as well as a reduction in trips to supermarkets outside Rye.
Rules on bringing a judicial review are very strict and any claim must be submitted within legal time limits. The “presumption in favour of development” so often quoted in planning is more accurately a presumption in favour of the development plan for a locality — unless material planning considerations (MPCs) indicate otherwise.
Rye Neighbourhood Plan’s latest iteration says the “H6” site for the west side of Winchelsea Road where Aldi would be located (along with 16 private homes and retirement accommodation) should be allocated for mixed use development and “Class E” employment, which includes retail and business uses. The plan also advocates strong measures to mitigate flood risk in the era of climate change.
Previous experience suggests that RDC’s planning division will carefully weigh the pros and cons of any development and will fully evaluate MPCs before reaching a decision on the Winchelsea Road development.
In the year to June 30, 2024, Jempson’s Supermarkets Ltd reported a net loss of £842,238 on turnover of £35.7 million. The company employed 231 staff in all its businesses with the petrol station in Peasmarsh producing a significant 23% of its overall turnover.
In his strategic report for the year, owner Stephen Jempson conceded that the principal risk to the company “comes from competition from national supermarket chains”.
Image Credits: Nick Forman , Harris Partnership .
I was really surprised to see Jempsons making over 800k loss between 2023 and 2024.surely if they opened on Sundays their loss would decrease, talking to a person that was serving customers on a sunday when the store was Budgens, she told me it was the stores busiest day of the week.
Sunday trading will just increase costs with staffing etc. The real point in that is that if Jempsons can’t make profit with a monopoly, then something is clearly wrong in the management of the company. Sunday trading won’t fix that.
Has anyone from jempsons management team walked around Rye in the last couple of years.
To state that Aldi proposal “has the potential to provide a significant adverse impact upon the health of the town centre” is unbelievable in my opinion.
We have a wonderful butchers shop with a fantastic greengrocery shop next door to each other on cinque ports street.
As for the high street we only have two shops for the local people of Rye and that’s the Bakery shop and Adams of Rye.
I haven’t included the chemist shops as these are both very popular with tourists and day trippers and the people of Rye.
The question is, have you walked around Rye?
Only two shops for ‘local people’ on the High St – do we not read books in Rye or eat chocolate or wear clothes?
In terms of food and drink, fact is there’s two bakers on the High Street [three if you count The Whitehouse] and a further one on Cinque Ports St, the butcher, greengrocer, wine merchant, fishmongers, convenience store at the garage, the chemist, the Deli, etc. etc.
Rye is fortunate [and somewhat unique] to have such an array independent retailers and it’s hard to see how they could fail to be impacted should an Aldi open. Not at all unbelievable.
Jempson’s is one of the main funders of the Rye Food Bank and through the Jempson’s Foundation supports local organisations across the towns where it has businesses. If they go out of business or incur future losses, these funds would be at risk. And if you have truly walked around Rye over the past many years, you will see a thriving number of businesses for locals and visitors. Not sure why you have had to divide the town as an Us vs Them. I am opposed to Aldi because it is a large foreign chain store that will negatively impact Rye with additional traffic, competition with local businesses that do not have deep pockets and bring a generic aesthetic to retailing. Rye is fortunate not to be a generic kind of town. It is unique and quite a special place. Aldi will diminish that.
Let’s stop pretending Aldi is the villain in some quaint village drama. Rye’s already split, those who shop at Jempson’s like it’s Mayfair, and the rest of us driving 30 minutes to Aldi or shop via Tesco vans. No one complains about supermarket deliveries threatening local shops, but Aldi gets the outrage? Please.
This isn’t about charm, it’s about choice. Jempson’s is expensive, Aldi is affordable, and not everyone in Rye has the luxury of shopping local when ‘local’ means premium prices. Aldi supports food banks, has donated over 40 million meals through its partnership with Neighbourly, and runs year-round donation schemes, including Christmas Eve food drives and community drop-off points in every store. That’s not a threat, it’s a lifeline.
If Rye’s identity can’t survive one budget-friendly store, maybe it’s not tradition we’re defending, just inflated margins. Rye’s strength isn’t in keeping progress out, it’s in making sure everyone belongs in it
A very sensible assessment, let’s hope Rother follow the majority public need
Aldi also contribute to the local community and pay higher wages whilst selling at lower prices. Win win for local people. Perhaps of Jempsons reviewed their price structure and stopped exploiting their monopoly, more locals would stay in Rye and not shop elsewhere. The fact that they are making a loss with no competition suggests the people of Rye want an Aldi.
Where is this myth that keeps being perpetuated of there being “no competition” for Jempsons? As I see it, there is plenty of competition existing already and although I choose to use Jempsons regularly, I also use that competition every week…….
I love Jempsons location. I go there when I run out of cat food. I drive to the Hastings Aldi to do my main shop. I go to the Rye local butcher and greengrocer to buy local or in season produce- not for sale at supermarkets.
If Jempsons was equal or better than Booths (a family created local supermarket group in Lancashire and the Lake District) then I could become a more frequent customer. But it isn’t. It would serve local clientele better if it was an Aldi. So yes, I can’t wait for ALDI to be built in Rye.
The report includes that Jempsons lost £800,000 last year and relies on the petrol station for 23% of its income.
This is with no real local opposition.
No wonder they’re fighting Aldi tooth and claw!
They should accept competition and concentrate on what they’re good at.
IMO, it woul be very suspect if yet another Supermarket were refused permission to be a competitor to the Status Quo…
If Jempson’s had the interest of local people and visitors they would open on a Sunday. That includes the petrol station. Why would you run your business at a loss. If things are that bad increase your opening hours.
Historically the mention of another supermarket, either Tescos or Sainsbury’s have been dropped. Why, I think we all know the answer.
It’s time Mr Jempson you bit the bullet and handed over Rye store totally to Morrisons, or stopped your time and money on fighting the Aldi application.which as we know lawyers are very expensive, hence your lack of profit.
Your store does not fulfil the needs of local people, please accept that.
Rye store is not fit for purpose for the average person. Just a convenient store.
The petrol station is open 15 hours a day 6 days a week, more than enough time for anyone to fill up.
It’s simply a bad location. It will cause big road congestion, resulting in less visitors to the nature reserve, reduced income for them as a result I also doubt they local support numbers since many who oppose would not do so on a planning site where their personal details are made public (fear of abuse) . There should be a proper anonymous poll to see what the real feeling is.
If you look at the comments on the planning application you will get an idea of local opinion.
… define local
If Jempsons declared a loss of £842,238 last year on a turnover of £35 million despite no competition in Rye, why do they bother trading?
Aldi, on the other hand, made £435 million profit in the same year albeit nationally.
I haven’t examined Jempsons’ accounts, but I wouldn’t be too alarmed by the loss figure. I expect (and of course hope!) that it is a very successful business.
If both Tescos and Waitrose can manage to run busy stores in Tenterden surely Aldi and Jempsons can do the same in Rye.
I think if jempsons of rye became Morrisons totally, Aldi would probably walk away.
Morrisons would suit all.
Therefore it would make a happy town.
I can see no benefit in Jempsons becoming a full Morrisons store. Morrisons used to be great when it was also a family-owned regional store chain, albeit a large one, operating mainly in Yorkshire. It then “went national” and current ownership is led by the American private-equity firm, CD&R. The Canada Pension Plan is a part owner.
Like all private-equity firms, they squeeze every penny of profits out of the business and aim to prepare it for sale at a huge profit. It’s easy to imagine what that does for the customers.
Morrisons is not a pleasant supermarket chain and, so far as Rye is concerned, I very much doubt it “would make a happy town.” A choice of supermarkets in the town would more likely achieve that state of being!
The fact that Jempsons are declaring such a large loss when the simple decision to open on a Sunday would increase profits is very suspicious. Does anyone know why there has not been a decision made yet? Are they waiting for something outstanding?
Please let Aldi come to Rye, a much needed choice especially for those with a lower budget.
This would be a great help to many that have to travel else where to find cheaper groceries.
A Sunday opening would be a huge bonus for locals and visitors.
This is becoming boring 15years ago Tesco’s we’re giving their backing by the planners for a super market off Ferry Road other sites we’re also looking to have a super market since then of course Winchelsea road site Aldi. All these proposed super markets have been objected by Jempson. Their legal bill must run into 1000s and 1000s of pounds.so not surprisingly a loss of over £800.000 last year no wonder their food prices are very expensive
Vic
I live in Rye Foreign
and have lived in the area for 26 years.i believe that Jempsons monopoly is bad thing,they have had it for too long,and are holding Rye shoppers hostage.
I avoid the high prices at Jempsons(even in conjunction with Morrisons)and drive to the Aldi at Ore, where a shop can be half the price at Jempsons
I look forward to seeing Aldi in aRye
We dread being stuck in the inevitable Rye traffic jams created by the increase in cars heading for the currently identified Aldi site, if that remains the plan. It is a very poor position for a large development attracting a great deal of traffic, including lorries, buses, etc. Exiting the Harbour road to drive to, through or round Rye town is likely to become just the begining of the Rye bottleneck. Might be worth considering a few more angles than the ones served up on a plate – please excuse the pun.
I suggest that some of that traffic is Ryers leaving and returning from shopping elesewhere.
How many journeys (and money) would instead be saved by locals?
Yes kate, since the visitor centre was built at the nature reserve we have seen double the amount of traffic using the harbour road, and as our elected county councillor said there was no problems with the harbour road junction, why should there be a problem with traffic entering the Aldi site from new Winchelsea road,where cars can enter the site freely, unlike the bottle neck junction at the top of the harbour road.
John, Although I avoid stating the obvious, try to imagine the level of traffic on Rye roads should the Aldi Superstore attract shoppers from surrounding villages. The Camber road could make much more sense. Time will tell.
John, you state with such authority that the rise in traffic using the Rye Harbour road is a direct result of the building of the Rye Harbour Nature Reserve’s Discovery Centre. I would like to know on what evidence you base this cause and effect?
May I suggest some other reasons for this increase, if indeed traffic has doubled as you say.
1. The expanding business park is providing more employment.
2. The caravan park has been expanding in recent years.
3.The existence of a large donations-only car park, especially after the rise in parking fees elsewhere.
4.The increase in the number of dog owners who need somewhere to walk their pets since lockdown.
5. Rye is often marketed as a ‘seaside’ town so the increasing number of visitors to the town seeking the sea are directed to Rye Harbour.
Need I go on? I often meet visitors to the Discovery Centre who say that they had no idea it was there (but admittedly are delighted to find it) so they have found their way to Rye Harbour for other reasons.
I think the arguments about traffic chaos are unfounded. I’ve never seen a problem in Ore where the road is far busier. At peak times the Aldi there would turnover in two days what Jempsons Rye, did in a week.
Having previously written to the council regarding a mini-roundabout at the junction of the Harbour Road and Winchelsea Road and getting no reply, I’d like to raise the issue once again. It’s a 30mph limit and generally drivers are driving slowly and very courteous when a large queue forms at the top of the harbour road but surely a roundabout would help the flow of traffic enormously. If Aldi were to come to Rye there could easily be traffic backing up to that junction.
On another issue in the Harbour, why is there no ‘Dead End’/No Through Road sign by the public loos. We are forever watching cars coming past The William the Conqueror and having to do a seven point turn as there is nowhere for them to go.
I agree that a mini-roundabout at the junction of Rye Harbour Road and Winchelsea Road would be a good idea. First, it would ease the ongoing problem of vehicles attempting to exit RH Road. Second, it would allow vehicles coming from the Rye direction to turn round on Winchelsea Road and head back along the road, where they could simply turn left into the proposed Aldi site. It would be a neat solution — or at least help with — any congestion problems that might occur.
Ore Aldi offers a false comparison to the proposed Rye site when you consider the disparity between the width of the roads – Ore road is twice the width and has room for a turn-off lane, so it stands to reason egress & exit is easier as traffic can pass cars waiting to turn into the car park. That is in addition to control of traffic flow by the traffic-lights at junction. So perhaps not at all comparative then, really.