This is the massive new Aldi store that opened in Milton Keynes today

A huge new Aldi store in Central Milton Keynes opened its doors to customers this morning, with Team GB Olympic Badminton hero Chris Langridge cutting the red ribbon.

The Place Retail Park store combined three empty units and has replaced the pre-existing store on Bradwell Common Boulevard.

It will be run by store manager Richard, along with a team of 30 colleagues from the local community.

In celebration, Olympian Chris gave away complimentary bags of fresh fruit and vegetables from Aldi’s Super 6 range to the first 30 customers in the queue.

He will also be delivering an inspirational virtual assembly for pupils at Summerfield Primary School, as part of the supermarket’s initiative, Get Set to Eat Fresh – which has already inspired over two million school children aged 5-14 years to learn more about the benefits of cooking fresh, healthy food with their families.

As Aldi has been fuelling Team GB with fresh, healthy food since 2015, the bronze medallist from Rio 2016 will focus on the benefits of eating healthy food and the importance of exercise and believing in yourself. He will also talk to pupils about his experience of competing as an Olympian and shared his challenging training regime.

In addition, the new Aldi will offer pupils at the local primary school the opportunity to win a £20 gift voucher to spend at the new store. Children at Summerfield Primary School will be tasked with creating a poster to show what healthy eating means to them. Chris Langridge will announce the winner, during the virtual assembly and the pupil will be presented with their £20 voucher.

Manager Richard said: “It’s been a wonderful morning here at The Place Retail Park. It was lovely to welcome our customers into the new Aldi store, and I look forward to meeting more of the community in the coming weeks. I’m also thrilled that we are able to support Summerfield Primary School through our partnership with Team GB.”

Chris said: “I’ve had a fantastic time opening the new Aldi this morning. It was an honour to officially open the store and welcome customers inside for the first time.

“I am looking forward to speaking with the children at Summerfield Primary School about the importance of eating healthily and how it can be fun to plan and prepare meals as a family. Hopefully I will also manage to inspire the pupils to keep active and try different sports.”

The new Aldi store offers large chillers and freezers dedicated to fresh, British meat products, a ‘Food to Go’ section at the front of the store, and an exclusive section full of Health & Beauty products.

There is also a ‘Aisle of Aldi’, where Specialbuys will be available every Thursday and Sunday.

During opening week, the store will be offering a wide range of advent calendars, including wooden advent calendars for £12.99, Hot Wheels or Polly Pocket advent calendars for £16.99, and book advent calendars for £9.99.

Additionally, the new Aldi store is calling on local charities and food banks in Milton Keynes to register with Neighbourly, a community engagement platform that links businesses to charitable organisations in the local community.

Local charities that register will be able to collect surplus food and perishable products, such as fruit, vegetables and baked goods, up to seven days a week. Any charities in the area that would like to partner up with the new Aldi store should email [email protected].

The new store will be open from Monday to Saturday between 8am and 10pm, and on Sundays between 10am and 4pm.