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 Thursday March 5.

To coincide with the store opening, 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 that 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 that 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 that our support will reach so many people.”

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

Craven ward 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 Town Council mayor cllr 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 next month's 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 to spend in the shop, or a selection of other prizes such as a 24-inch LED television and DVD and a Robot vacuum cleaner.

Mr Holtom added: "We’ve got some fantastic offers in the store and with some great golden ticket prizes up for grabs, we’re hoping for a good turn-out."

Aldi last year won a tussle with business rival Tesco for the chance to open in Silsden.

Both supermarket chains had been seeking to open stores on sites at Keighley Road.

In March 2014 planners denied Tesco the chance to take the matter to a head-to-head battle, then approved the plan for Aldi to build the food store on land at Habbeger House.