Work on Chelmsford’s third Aldi supermarket, next to one of Chelmsford’s traffic hotspots is expected to start imminently.

Plans were passed for the new supermarket next to the Army and Navy flyover back in June, joining the well-established Springfield Road site and one at Clock Tower Retail Park in Westway, which opened earlier this year.

Work is now expected to start soon on developing the former Jewson’s site  close to Moulsham Mill, which Aldi bought several years ago, into a 1,741 square metre foodstore.

The proposal includes 108 car parking spaces, including six disabled spaces and an additional 41 parking spots to be shared between an overflow car park for the Aldi store and Moulsham Mill.

The Army and Navy roundabout is one of the busiest junctions in the city and is often a hot topic of contention with motorists accustomed to queuing on the approach to it.

The controversial Baddow Bus Gate plan remains another source of frustration for some residents.

The application submitted to Chelmsford City Council reads: “The application site is bounded to the south and west by two primary distribution roads- Chelmer Road and Parkway. To the east is further open land and to the north is the Moulsham Mill complex.

“There are good links to the local area via Parkway, which leads to Chelmsford city centre, and Chelmsford railway station to the north-west, via the A138 which leads to Chelmer Village and Springfield to the north-east and the B1009 which leads to the Baddow area to the south.

“Chelmsford railway station is approximately 1.5 miles to the north-west and is on the East Coast mainline running between London Liverpool Street and Ipswich.

“The area surrounding the site has good pedestrian links with footpaths at least 2m wide and safe crossing areas.

“There are at least 40 bus stops with multiple bus routes in operation providing good links to the area.”

An avid campaigner against the Baddow Bus Gate however claimed that the new Aldi could make the traffic situation worse.

He said: “Just imagine the traffic with all those cars coming in and out of it and what it is going to do to the Army and Navy. Its going to absolutely stuff Parkway.

“It’s a crazy situation – the whole roundabout is going to be stuffed. How many Aldis do they want in Chelmsford?”

Aldi was approached  for comment.