Is a new supermarket set to open in Northampton as work starts at long-redundant Homebase site?

Work has started on the site of a former Homebase in Northampton - with residents claiming it is being converted into a supermarket.

The plot on Weedon Road has been seen being cleared out with lots of work ongoing recently.

Aldi is rumoured to be taking over the site but has not responded to the Chronicle & Echo's requests for comment.

The site's owner, Canada Life Asset Management, has had three planning applications to amend it approved over the past year.

These include alterations to the front and side elevations, the provision of a new access onto Weedon Road, changes to the car park configuration, new external lighting, relocation of the bus stop and highway signs, removal of garden centre structures and a new goods entrance to the rear.

Canada Life also has not responded to a request for comment.

The large site on Weedon Road had been redundant for more than a year after Homebase closed in early 2019 and Argos relocated into the nearby Sainsbury's in 2018.

Members of the Spotted Duston Facebook group speculated about the plot's future, with some suggesting the Aldi in St James was moving there and jobs at the new store were being advertised online.

No official comments have been given to this newspaper to back up those claims.