Dorset Council has approved planning permission for Lidl to build and operate a supermarket in Verwood.
The new store will be on Ringwood Road opposite the petrol station, in place of a current caravan store and two residential properties (76 and 78) – a total area of 1.6 acres.
The green light was given unanimously by members at the planning meeting on Wednesday 30th September with an additional condition about a potential barrier at the car park for use out of hours.
A car park will provide 79 free bays of which 6 will be disabled spaces and 6 will be parent and child spaces at the front of the property. Twelve customer cycle parking will be provided to encourage shoppers to visit the store by bicycle.
Following initial objections (a total of 64 letters), a number of changes were made to the proposal by Lidl, including repositioning the main building to avoid impact on the protected oak tree (which will now be retained), and overall height reduced by 1m with a change to floor levels.
Verwood Lidl will have only two or three deliveries a day to a recessed loading bay on the side of the building, and the existing access to the caravan storage site will be adjusted slightly and moved 6m to the west of the existing access.
The accesses to the residential properties will be closed to leave one vehicular access point. Pedestrian and cycle access will also be directly from Ringwood Road.
Lidl UK’s Regional Head of Property, James Mitchell, told VerwoodToday prior to today’s news: “We are extremely excited about the prospect of opening a Lidl in Verwood and serving our fresh, quality and incredibly good value produce which shoppers across the country have come to love. We look forward to welcoming anyone along to the public consultation day and showcasing our plans whilst answering any questions.”
Lidl’s closest stores to Verwood are Ferndown and Ringwood, with around 760 locations around the UK, and over 10,000 worldwide.
Lidl Verwood will compete with the town’s only other supermarket operated by Morrisons, plus the smaller Tesco and Co-op branches. Aldi has also recently indicated an interest in opening in the town.