Lidl wins through after Salford stand-off
The city council has approved the supermarket’s plans for a store within Salboy’s Castle Irwell scheme at the second time of asking.
Lidl has been trying to build a store on the corner of Cromwell Road and Littleton Road since early 2021 and has finally been granted approval to do so almost three years later.
Salford City Council rejected Lidl’s first application for a 23,400 sq ft store in July 2021.
A report compiled by Salford’s principal planning officer David Allen at the time said Lidl’s proposals “fail to respond to and sit sympathetically within its physical context and respect the positive character of the local area and urban form around Charlestown roundabout.”
Lidl appealed the refusal but the planning inspectorate sided with the city council, saying the development would “significantly undermine the efforts of the city council and stakeholders with regards to the regeneration of the area”.
The discount retailer dusted itself down and returned with updated proposals in January 2023. The revised application sought consent for a slightly smaller store.
One of the main concerns about the initial proposals from both the city council and the planning inspector was the fact that the proposed store would be set back from the road.
Lidl sought to address this issue with the revised plans, moving the store closer to Littleton Road.
Whereas the previous proposals would have seen the store accessed via Littleton Road, the refreshed plans show access would now be from Cromwell Road.
The nearest Lidl store is located at Mocha Parade, approximately 1.2km south-east of the application site.
To learn more about the application, search for reference number 22/81015/FUL on Salford City Council’s planning portal.
There’s no need for another Lidl there, there’s two already in very close proximity
By Mike
Should have been an Aldi, but I’m not convinced Cromwell Road will manage with the traffic.
By Daz
With 367 new houses popping up in Castle Irwell, it’s so important the council brings in some new amenities to these new areas, with a supermarket being a key one. This will also make it easier for everyone in the area to cut back on car use. 🙂
By Filipa
So frustrating that another low value supermarket will be built here. There’s already Lidl supermarkets at Mocha Parade, just over the Kersal border in Prestwich and one at Salford precinct. We definitely do not need another so close by. Lack of aspiration and ambition to improve the area does not support what local residents want.
By Anon
This is so depressing. All that surface parking 🙁
With the limited space available in our cities, we should be forcing supermarkets to have basement parking in urban locations like this, in order to make efficient use of the space and allow for soft landscaping. Ample space above the store for two or three storeys of apartments as well. Something they are doing successfully in London and other European cities.
By Anonymous
The revised plans are better, showing the building fronting the main road, better defining the street. They have also used more brick.
Whilst a mixed use scheme would’ve been ideal, I understand that this is quite a constrained site. But it just goes to show how important it is not to just accept the first proposal that these supermarkets put forward without challenge. They obviously hate being forced to modify their standard coookie-cutter designs but I think Salford have got a good outcome here by sticking to their guns and pushing for better.
By Anonymous
Who needs neighborhood corner shops when you can use your car to get your essential groceries from a supermarket? The carless probably can not afford to shop anyway.
By Anonymous
As a resident and home owner in Blandford Road this store is exactly what the area needs. A good supermarket which people can walk to without needing a car. A lot residents in this area are tenants who do not have cars, it is nonsense to suggest they can go to other LIDLs which are not that close at all and certainly not within easy walking distance.
By RichardB