Lidl returns for third attempt in Wirral

The supermarket chain has submitted scaled-back plans for a store off New Chester Road and Caldbeck Road in Bromborough, after two previous submissions were refused by the local council. 

The latest proposal sees the store reduced in size to 20,000 sq ft with a sales area of 13,400 sq ft, 10% smaller than the previous application rejected last year. 

Fronting New Chester Road with access for vehicles via Thursby Road, the development will provide 120 car parking spaces, down from 127 in the scheme’s previous iteration. 

The 2.5-acre site is occupied by two vacant single-storey buildings that would be demolished under the plans. 

In May 2018, Lidl’s first stab at approval was also refused by Wirral Council’s planning committee on the grounds that the company had failed to justify a change of use from employment land to retail space and did not fully demonstrate “that there was no reasonable prospect of the site being used for employment purposes”. 

Last year, the project was refused again for the same reason. 

While a fresh application has now been lodged, Lidl is still awaiting the outcome of an appeal against the second refusal. 

A recent public consultation, held online, showed that 92% of respondents said they supported a new store on the site, according to Lidl. 

Stuart Jardine, Lidl’s regional head of property, said: “The consultation has once again confirmed that we have strong community support for a new store on this site.   

“Our plans will bring this derelict site back in to use and create up to 40 new full- and part-time jobs for local people in the process.” 

The planning consultant for the project is Southport-based Plan A. One Design is the architect.