Bulldozers move in to clear way for new Doncaster Aldi store

Demolition teams have moved in to start to tear down the former Markham Main miners welfare club on Church Street, Armthorpe, years after the landmark facility was last used.

Bulldozers are being used to take down the brickwork on the site, and are expected to complete the job by the end of next week.

In its place, builders are set to move in after it is flattened to start work on an Aldi supermarket on the site.

It is the latest supermarket in a village which already has a Co-op and a Morrisons selling groceries.

Armthorpe ward Coun Sue McGuinness said she thought there would be mixed feelings within the community at the loss of the club, which had once been a thriving local hub.

She said: “There will be people who are sad to see the club go but at the same time there will be people who are pleased to be getting a new Aldi.

“The club has been closed for quite a few years now, and it is a big site.

“Bringing in another supermarket on Church Street has meant there have been concerns in the village about about the level of traffic coming through the village.

“We get a fair bit of traffic already, but we have a neighbourhood plan and will look as a parish council at what can be done. There will be discussions.

“We are hoping that the new Finningley and Rossington Relief Route Scheme will take a lot of the traffic that comes through away.”

The club on Church Street is one of a number of well-known drinking venues in Armthorpe to have closed down in recent years.

The Mere Lane Club in the village closed down and was subsequently replaced by flats.

TheTadcaster Arms is boarded up and expected to be developed as housing in the future.

And The Plough is also no longer open.

Big bars such as The Drum in Bentley, The Moon at Carcroft, and The Park Hotel at Belle Vue are among the high profile venues to have been lost in the wider Doncaster area.

However discount supermarkets such as the Aldi – which is proposed for Church Street – have increased and have been opening across the borough.

The store planned for Armthorpe is expected to create dozens of part time and full time jobs when it opens.