Moorlands towns targeted for Lidl branches
LIDL hopes to build another 12 supermarkets across Staffordshire including two in the Moorlands.
The discount supermarket chain has pinpointed various locations where it would like to open branches over the next few years.
Desired areas for the German-founded chain in the wider county include Stafford, Chesterton, Newcastle, Biddulph, Cheadle and Stone.
The news comes as Lidl has already lodged to open a canal-side store on vacant land off Lichfield Street in Hanley. Another Lidl is also under construction on the corner of Scotia Road and Federation Road, in Burslem, which has been empty ever since the demolition of Westport House.
Lidl is calling on the public to help locate suitable sites for the new outlets to be built, and is offering a finder’s fee to anyone who successfully identifies a site which ends up becoming a store. The fee is either 1.5% of the total freehold purchase price or 10% of first year’s rent for leaseholds, which would equate to £22,500 for a completed £1.5million site purchase.
The latest list of locations where Lidl wants to open new stores includes the following Staffordshire areas:
Fenton, Trentham, Biddulph, Cheadle, Newcastle south, Newcastle west, Chesterton, Stone, Stafford central, Stafford east, Stafford north, Stafford south
The sites above are listed within Lidl’s annual site requirements brochure which indicates areas which are desirable for new stores. It represents a long list of potential sites, from which a small number will eventually be developed and opened as supermarkets as the firm looks to reach 1,100 stores by the end of 2025.
So far this year, Lidl has already opened 23 new stores across the country.
Richard Taylor, chief development officer at Lidl GB, said: “We know that the majority of British shoppers still love doing their shopping in person and we are as committed as ever to opening new stores and enhancing our existing ones. We’re opening an average of one new store a week, which is incredible, and our teams have done a phenomenal job of keeping that pace going over the last couple of years.
“But there are still communities up and down the country that are telling us how much they want - and need - a Lidl store. We work with some of the best people in the industry to identify new sites, but we also know how engaged our future and existing customers are and we want to build on this.
“Our finder’s fees are, therefore, available to absolutely anyone that can identify a viable option for a new store that we’re not already aware of, and we welcome any suitable suggestions that will help up us to meet our ambitious target of 1,100 stores by the end of 2025.”
Members of the public who know of potential sites are encouraged to check details against Lidl’s site requirements and contact the supermarket’s property team.