Supermarket giant Aldi has secured an alcohol licence for its latest Angus store on a £16m Arbroath retail park.
The discount chain is one of the big names lined up for the Elliot development which is under construction beside the A92.
Liverpool-based Home Bargains is leading the project and will be the anchor store.
It is set to include a builder’s merchant and two drive-thru outlets.
The retail park is being built on the former Presentation Products factory site.
On Thursday, Aldi went before Angus Licensing Board with an application for an off sales license for the premises.
It was seeking booze sales from 10am to 10pm.
A company representative said the licensing application was the firm’s next stage in the plan to open in Arbroath.
“Aldi is an excellent retailer with an unblemished record,” she said.
“They want to invest in this store and they want to bring jobs to Arbroath.”
Councillors heard the company now has more than 100 stores in Scotland.
The Arbroath site is part of continuing growth which has seen the firm invest more than £55m in new developments in the past few years.
The spokesperson told the board: “They are excited at the prospect of being able to deliver this store in Arbroath.”
She said the area being sought for alcohol sales was just over 40 square metres.
“That represents 1.6% of the overall sales area in the store so it is a comparatively small area,” she added.
A planned opening date for the store opening has yet to be confirmed.
The Angus board unanimously granted the off sales licence.
Aldi Perthshire expansion stalls
It comes as Aldi considers its next step in efforts to expand in neighbouring Perthshire.
Perth and Kinross Council approved the new supermarket at Pitheavlis last May.
But rival Tesco launched a judicial review in the Court of Session.
The challenge was successful and a question mark now hangs over what will happen to the partially-built store.
And Aldi suffered another blow when a plan for an outlet in Milnathort was rejected.
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