Two new supermarkets in Herne Bay will be open within a year, the Gazette can reveal.

Building work is set to start on an Aldi in King’s Road and a Sainsbury’s superstore off the Thanet Way at Broomfield.

Both supermarkets won planning permission last year and will join the town’s only large food store, Morrisons in Beach Street.

Coplan Estates is overseeing the project for the new Aldi store as part of a wider £25 million Herne Bay regeneration scheme.

Project manager Colin McQueston says work could begin within the next two months and bring 500,000 visitors and shoppers to the town centre every year.

He said: “Once contractors are on site there will be a consideration period of about six months before we hand over before the end of this year.

“Aldi in itself will be a major attraction to the town and bring more customer footfall.

“The future prosperity of the town is all to do with bringing more people in.

“The jobs and the store will benefit the town itself, with 30 to 35 new jobs being created.”

Mr McQueston says Coplan Estates will seek to submit a planning application for the second phase of the regeneration project once building work has started on Aldi.

There had been plans for a new town centre square with major retail units on the William Street car park, but they will now be tweaked to retain parking spaces originally planned for above the supermarket.

Mr Coplan said: “We wanted to get Aldi in and under contract as the anchor store before we began phase two.

“We can’t be completely accurate in terms of costs, but phase two is bigger in terms of value.

“It will retain some elements of the car park, with a number of different retail outlets and one or two restaurant spaces. There will be residential space above.”

Construction work on the new Sainsbury’s store at the Altira Business Park is due to begin this spring, with the supermarket set to open early next year.

Developer Terrace Hill was granted planning permission in October for the 100,000 sq ft supermarket, along with eight industrial units and warehouses, and a new petrol station off the Thanet Way.

The scheme will also see the construction of a new pedestrian footbridge at Blacksole Bridge in Margate Road.

Plans also include a new bus route to the town centre, £500,000 to help local businesses with marketing and training and £2.2 million towards improving streets in the town centre, along with free parking for two years.

Nigel Wakefield, development director at Terrace Hill, said: “Our plans at Altira Park will deliver significant investment in Herne Bay.

“We are therefore delighted that planning permission has been granted and look forward to works beginning over the coming months.

“With such a large number new jobs and high level of investment being created, this development will benefit the whole area.”