SUPERMARKET chain Aldi’s move into Tranent moved a massive step closer after planning permission was granted for the development.

Plans were submitted to East Lothian Council for a supermarket on Haddington Road, on the site of the former Tranmare Hotel, and have now been approved.

That now paves the way for the procurement of contracts, before a building period of between 26 and 30 weeks.

Earlier this year, representatives of Aldi attended a meeting of Tranent and Elphinstone Community Council to outline their plans for the site, which they said was due to open in early 2016.

However, that date has since changed, with Aldi bosses hoping to open the store before Christmas next year.

And the supermarket, Aldi’s third in the county after stores in Haddington and Musselburgh, is set to be among the chain’s biggest in Scotland.

A spokesman for Aldi told the Courier: “Tranent stands out like a sore thumb as a strong catchment area that we don’t have a store in.

“There is a leakage of Tranent folk leaving [the town] to shop elsewhere, and the development of a store may increase shopping in other areas of the town.” Aldi is also committed to 30 in-store jobs, with none of its prospective employees on zero-hours contracts.

The application for the store, of 1,250 square metres, was approved by East Lothian Council last week.

The site of the Tranmare has lain unused for more than three years, after a fire ripped through the former pub. The burnt-out building was demolished in March 2013.

The news of the planning permission comes as the town’s shopping landscape is changing.

Asda is set to move into the Co-op store, also on Haddington Road, in the New Year, while the Co-op’s other store in the town, at Windygoul, was recently expanded and refurbished.

Bosses at the Original Factory Shop have confirmed they will not be leaving the town, despite Aldi soon moving in next door.