WORK is underway on a controversial new Aldi store. The supermarket giant was granted permission to build in Malmesbury last year, and says the development will create 30 jobs. In the coming weeks, the former Malmesbury Garden Centre on Crudwell Road will be transformed into the new Aldi store, a prospect some in the town still face with trepidation. Local retail expert Gordon MacPherson said: “It clearly presents a further challenge for the independent retailers, who have weathered the Waitrose opening in August 2014 and are facing further pressures with the latest lockdown restrictions in place, but Aldi has an opportunity to be part of the town and to support local initiatives to help it recover from the lockdown and eventually prosper.