In June last year, the discount supermarket chain submitted plans to open a new store on Pinners Brow Retail Park.
Currently, the site consists of four separate units occupied by Wickes DIY and trade store, which will remain, as well as Sofology, The Jungle children’s soft play and Carpet Right.
Lidl has acquired unit four, currently occupied by Carpet Right – which entered administration in July and announced the store was to close – as well as unit three occupied by The Jungle and a portion of unit two occupied by Sofology Warrington.
It was proposed to reconfigure and extend units two, three and four in order to deliver a Lidl store within units two and three, with The Jungle relocating into the smaller unit two.
As part of the development, certain areas of the existing car park will be modernised to improve parking arrangements and traffic flow around the site.
Three letters of objection to the move were submitted by Martin Robeson Planning Practice (MRPP), on behalf of Tesco, which opened a large nearby store on Winwick Road in 2003.
Objections were over the inadequacy and failure of a sequential assessment, unacceptable loss of parking spaces and the determination of the application under delegated authority.
MRPP said: “The applicant’s sequential assessment fails to consider the vacant M&S unit on Sankey Street, significantly located within the primary shopping area.
“That unit has been vacant since 2017 and is currently on the market. The development of the vacant M&S unit would bring significant investment into the town centre.
“Furthermore, the applicant has also failed to consider the former Wilko store located within the primary shopping area within Golden Square Shopping Centre.
“The applicant has not demonstrated that no suitable sites are available in more sequentially preferable locations to that proposed. It should therefore be refused.”
In response to the objections, Plan A, on behalf of Lidl, said: “MRPP’s claims are poorly conceived. The Lidl business model is fundamentally different to that of M&S.
“It is also apparent that the M&S business model failed at the Sankey Street store, which it has closed down.
Lidl saw its new Warrington supermarket plans objected to by Tesco. Pictures: PA
“It is evident that the letters of objection submitted by MRPP constitute a commercial objection from Tesco, a competing food store operator that has a store nearby that it is seeking to protect from competition from the proposed development.
“However, the planning system does not seek to favour one commercial interest over another, and retail policy does not offer the nearby Tesco Extra store any protection from competition from the proposed Lidl store.”
In granting permission, the council said: “The sequential test submitted demonstrates that there are no other sequentially preferable sites available at this time.
“The impact test submitted demonstrates that impacts are limited, not significantly adverse and are acceptable.
“All other material consideration can be mitigated or managed, and are acceptable.
“The principle of the proposed development is therefore considered to be acceptable subject to conditions.”
Founded in Germany in the 1930s, Lidl began trading in the UK in 1994, and it now operates more than 900 stores nationwide.
The Lidl store will be open between 7am and 10pm from Monday to Saturday, including bank holidays, and between 10am and 6pm on Sundays.
It will require up to 30 members of staff, with both part-time and full-time roles offered, with the national chain not offering zero-hour contracts.
Planning documents state: “It is expected that the majority, if not all members of staff, will be local people living in the local area.”
Staff at the existing Sofology and Carpet Right stores will be given the opportunity to apply for a job at the new Lidl store, they add.
Plans state that Lidl looked at six units in Golden Square, as well as units on Cockhedge and Riverside retail parks, but none were deemed big enough or suitable for other reasons.
Documents submitted as part of the application state: “Lidl is dedicated to investing in Warrington, and if the proposed development is granted consent, it will be promptly constructed.
“This new addition to Warrington’s retail offering will serve the needs of the local community, catering to the specific catchment area in the vicinity.”