Lidl planning bigger store
FOOD giant Lidl is set to demolish its supermarket at Tondu and replace it with an even bigger store complete with more parking spaces.
DISCOUNT food giant Lidl is set to demolish one of its supermarkets and replace it with a bigger store.
Its proposal to replace its exiting unit in Tondu, near Bridgend, with one that is 41% bigger and with extra car parking spaces, has been given the green light by Bridgend council.
Permission was granted by the development control committee despite objections from some residents of the Pentre Felin estate, which surrounds the store located off Maesteg Road.
Seven objections were submitted to the council citing the extra traffic and noise the expanded store would create.
They also objected to the relocation of the loading bay to a site nearer houses and said there was no need for a larger store as the existing shop had not long been built and adequately catered for residents’ needs.
But the report by the council’s communities director Mark Shephard, which was presented to the committee, stated that the plan adhered to planning policy.
He said: “With regard to the proposed increased scale of the site, as the proposal is to replace an existing store, the overall increase of 666.5sq m is not considered to have an unacceptable impact on the visual amenities of the area. Also, the height of the proposed store is generally consistent with the existing store and therefore would not be overly prominent and would sit well within the existing site.
“It is considered that the overall design and increase in the size of the building will not have any greater impact than the existing store on the residential amenities currently enjoyed by the neighbouring properties.”
He said deliveries would be restricted to between 7am to 10pm Mondays to Fridays and 8am to 10pm on Saturdays and Sundays to mitigate noise disturbance to neighbouring properties.
Lidl also has to contribute £6,500 to highway upgrades.
It is unclear when work on the new store is set to begin.