PLANS to build an Aldi supermarket in Benfleet could be given the green light next week.

The company wants to demolish the old Focus DIY building in Rushbottom Lane, at the Tarpots junction, and put a new store on the 1.32-acre site.

The building has been derelict since Focus collapsed in 2011.

Castle Point Council officers have recommended councillors should approve the plans at a meeting next week, subject to 18 conditions.

Aldi would have to start building work within the next three years and opening hours would be restricted to between 8am and 10pm, Monday to Saturday, and from 10am to 4pm on Sundays and bank holidays.

Tom Skipp, Conservative councillor for Appleton ward, said: “That site has been out of use for some time, so we do need to find a good use for it.

“It is in a prime location in the town centre and needs to be used by an appropriate company.”

The new store could provide about 30 jobs and would include a 104-space car park also open to non-Aldi customers.

Aldi also hopes reintroduce a right-hand turn off the A13 into Rushbottom Lane to improve access to the car park when travelling from the east and to encourage more visitors to Tarpots.

If approved, the store could be open by the end of the year.

The plans will be discussed at a development control meeting at the council offices, in Kiln Road, Thundersley, on Tuesday.