LIDL has cleared its first major hurdle of building a new supermarket in Bournemouth after a planning officer said ‘yes’.
However, councillors will have the final say on the budget supermarket’s bid to build at Westover Retail Park in Castle Lane West.
If the planning application is approved at a meeting on Thursday, January 23, it could mean the loss of Pets at Home, Pizza Hut, Prama charity shop and Cotswold outdoor shop.
Steve Davies, planning officer at BCP Council, has recommended to councillors of the planning committee that the supermarket should be given approval.
During a consultation carried out by the council, 59 people wrote in favour of the new Lidl and 20 objected.
Those objecting cited the loss of existing shops and an increase in traffic to the area as being the main concerns.
But in a report, Mr Davies has laid out a series of financial contributions that Lidl would have to follow should permission be given.
It includes £66,800 for sustainable travel measures to mitigate the impact on the surrounding roads that could see a new pedestrian crossing in Wimborne Road.
Mr Davies said: “Objectors to the scheme have suggested that a food store on this site could compromise the traditional shopping outlets in Moordown and retail uses and centres further afield could suffer.
“It could lead to the closure in time of the Winton Lidl which strongly supports that centre.
“However, Lidl have said that this is not their plan at present as it is well supported by the student population in the area.
“Importantly the retail advice the council has sought suggests that any impact will not be significant to a degree that the current application should be resisted.”
He said those in support of the supermarket have said there is “clearly a demand” for Lidl and that those in Muscliff and Redhill would find it “convenient”.
Rival Tesco, which has a supermarket two miles away, launched an attack on Lidl’s proposals last year, saying it would have a “significant adverse impact” on the area.
Lidl, meanwhile, has said up to 40 jobs would be created from the new supermarket – although it’s expected it could be a net loss if the other businesses were not to relocate.
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