PLANS to build a new Lidl superstore in Calne have finally been given approved by Wiltshire Council.
The huge development will see Lidl build their 2,280sq metre shop near the junction of Oxford Road and Beversbrook Road, along with the construction of ten employment units - expected to create up to 300 new full and part time jobs for the town.
Plans also include 130 parking spaces, service roads and landscaping for both the store and the employment units will also be erected at the site, which is currently a greenfield site.
Permission was originally granted in April 2023, however, in May 2023, Tesco submitted an objection and asked Wiltshire Council to quash the planning permission granted to Lidl and reconsider the application as they believed the planning policy was not correctly followed in that 'the authority misinterpreted planning policy because the retail element did not accord with the allocation of the site for employment use in the neighbourhood plan' and 'the authority acted irrationally by placing undue reliance on the change to the use class despite the land being allocated for employment use in the neighbourhood plan'.
Around 4,000 members of the community actively registered their support for the Lidl development but the Pre Action-Protocol issued by Tesco led to the planning permission being quashed.
Lidl vowed to 'fight on' and resubmitted plans in August last year. A decision was due to be made by 31st May 2024 however, the decision has been delayed several times. Cllr Botterill explained: "This is a large-scale development and it is not uncommon in these circumstances for planning applications to take longer than the government’s timescales for determination.
Lidl will be bound by a number of conditions in order for approval to be valid. When previously granted permission, these conditions included the use of each new space, the landscaping of the site and the completion of access routes and adequate parking spaces for both cars and bicycles.
There will be restrictions on when deliveries and collections can be made at the store, with none permitted outside of 6am to 11pm from Monday to Saturday or 7am to 6pm on Sundays and bank holidays, in order to reduce the impact on surrounding residents.
A noise-mitigation scheme will also need to be approved by the local authority before the store is brought into use.
The development will see a new road crossing and pavement improvements provided along the A3102.
You can read the full application and status here.
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