AT LEAST 25 jobs for people in and around Silsden will be created when a new branch of Aldi opens next month.

The store in Keighley Road will open its doors to the public on March 5.

To coincide with the event, Aldi is sponsoring Silsden Juniors Football Club’s annual volunteer-run competition, which sees more than 100 under-six and under-12 teams battle it out for the title.

The business has announced it is also donating a variety of healthy snacks to the Stay and Play class at the Daisy Chain Children’s Centre in Elliott Street.

Aldi Store manager, Dean Holtom, said: “The team and I are looking forward to opening the store and meeting members of the local community.

“It is important we support the community as much as possible. The Silsden Juniors Football Club competition brings hundreds of people into the area, so we are delighted our support will reach so many people.”

The 1,140-square-metre premises has 114 car parking spaces and is open from 8am to 10pm Monday to Saturday and 10am to 4pm on Sundays.

Councillor, Adrian Naylor, said: “I welcome Aldi’s arrival in Silsden.

“This would seem to complement the existing mix of shops we have in the town. I feel this now puts us in a reasonable position in terms of having enough options available for shoppers.

“However, I would be concerned if we were to see further expansion of supermarkets in the town because I think that would have an impact on independent traders.”

Fellow ward councillor and Silsden Mayor, Chris Atkinson, said: “We definitely welcome it – I think it’s what the town needs.

“We’ve been needing something like this for a long time. It’s only a small to mid-range store so it wouldn’t take anything out of the main street.”

Aldi is staging a special golden ticket event as part of the opening day.

The first 100 people in the queue will be handed a golden envelope, each containing a prize, and will be in with a chance of winning £200 worth of Aldi vouchers or items including a 24-inch LED television and DVD and a Robot vacuum cleaner.

Aldi won a tussle last year with business rival Tesco for the chance to open in Silsden. Both had been seeking to locate stores on sites in Keighley Road.

Planners denied Tesco the chance to take the matter to a head-to-head battle, then approved the plan for Aldi.