A SUPERMARKET chain is looking to open several new stores across Dorset – including one in Dorchester.

Aldi described Dorset as an important growth area and is now looking for sites in Dorchester, Shaftesbury and Blandford as well as in the east of the county.

Aldi opened a new supermarket at Chickerell Link Park last September.

The new openings are part of the budget chain’s plan to open 1,000 new stores in the UK in the next few years, and comes as it overtakes the Co-operative as the UK’s fifth biggest supermarket, according to data from Kantar Worldpanel.

Matthew Barnes, chief executive of Aldi, said: “If you look at the population, we think not only could we have a store in every town and city, but for every 25,000 to 30,000 people.”

“We have 700 stores now and 300 sites already approved on our books. And there are 600 towns where we don’t have a store; in many of which we could easily have two, three or four stores.”

Aldi already has a store at Jubilee Retail Park, Weymouth, and also at Chickerell Link Park.

The Chickerell store created 25 new jobs and includes a net sales area of 1,254 sqm, along with a 135-space car park.

Ian Girling, chief executive of the Dorset Chamber of Commerce, welcomed the news and said: “Aldi clearly has ambitious plans in place in terms of expansion.

“It’s encouraging to see Aldi recognise Dorset as a growth area and I am sure new stores will be welcomed in the named towns.

“This is clearly also good news in terms of creating jobs in these areas.”

The news comes despite Aldi reporting a fall in profits this year after the price war between the other rival big five started to eat into its own profitability, falling 1.8 per cent to £255m but beating its rival Lidl which has a smaller presence in the county.

Lidl is investing £1.5bn over 2015-18 for its national expansion.