A DERBYSHIRE village is divided over plans to build a supermarket and recycling area.

Residents in Hilton have been calling for better amenities to serve the hundreds of homes built on a former Ministry of Defence site.

But plans put forward by Aldi have sparked disagreement, with some welcoming the proposal and others opposing it, raising concerns about the location and extra traffic.

More than 30 people attended a parish council meeting to discuss the project, earmarked for land off The Mease, which would create 20 jobs.

Julie Patten, district and parish councillor for Hilton, said the main cause for concern was the proposed entry and exit points, off Huntspill Road.

She said: "At the end of the day, we need more infrastructure to serve the residents in Hilton, but there is concern about the project.

"The supermarket would mean an increase in traffic not only from the delivery lorries but also from people visiting.

"It will impact more on people living near the site, but there are no supermarkets nearby – the closest ones are in other villages, like Mickleover."

The plans for the supermarket have been submitted to South Derbyshire District Council.

And Aldi bosses believe the location of the store should make it a big hit. Their application said: "Within Hilton, due to its strategic, accessible location, the proposed store is likely to attract significant walk-in trade from a significant proportion of the surrounding, densely-populated residential areas."

There is a smaller Tesco Express yards away from where the new Aldi is planned, but council chiefs believe there is enough demand for both.

The application also includes a blueprint for a 65-space car park and a recycling area.

Parish councillor Jenny Keery said the council was in favour of the plans in principle but had concerns about the appearance of the store.

She said: "We would like to see a new supermarket within the village but the plans at the moment are not in keeping with the rest of the village.

"We also have concerns about the access to the store."

Andy Markgraf, 43, of Welland Road, Hilton, is opposing the plans.

He said: "I am completely against the proposal.

"The area is completely wrong for a supermarket and one of the major concerns is about the impact of traffic by making the access off Huntspill Road.

"The traffic survey was done on a school inset day, so did not get the complete picture, and we had to get an old recycling area in the village removed because of the state of it.

"There are a lot of flaws in the plans."