Lidl puts tricky Liverpool site up for sale  

Having abandoned plans to redevelop the grade two-listed former Abbey Cinema in Wavertree after public backlash, the discount retailer has put the plot on the market. 

Lidl has appointed Mason Partners to find a buyer for the site in the hopes of making its money back. 

The supermarket chain bought the plot in May 2020 for £1.4m but its redevelopment proposals met with resistance. 

Lidl first lodged plans for the redevelopment of the Church Road North site in April 2021. This involved demolishing the former cinema and building a 17,700 sq ft store.  

At the time, the company said it was “not economically viable” to convert the building, which had previously been a Co-op.  

The former cinema was then granted grade two-listed status by Historic England, scuppering the proposals.  

Lidl subsequently withdrew the plans and returned last August with a revised application seeking consent to convert the building instead of knocking it down.  

However, this application was withdrawn last year.