Supermarket chain Lidl submits application for new store in Keynsham

Lidl has submitted plans to build a supermarket right opposite Waitrose in Keynsham.

Jewson in Keynsham

Lidl’s rival Aldi won permission last month to build a store at the nearby Brincliffe Nursery site, with Bath & North East Somerset Council’s planning committee voting in favour of the plans, despite officers recommending refusal due to concerns over traffic congestion.

Lidl had indicated its intention to build a store at Broadmead Lane earlier this year, but its two applications to demolish industrial units at the Jewson and Glenavon Timber Services site were refused by the council as there was not enough information to assess the likely potential impacts on protected species.

Now Lidl has lodged a full planning application to demolish the existing buildings and build a new food store with parking, landscaping, drainage and servicing.

Lidl says its proposed store, which will create 40 local jobs, is much closer to the town centre than Aldi’s and is in an area of existing retail and commercial activity.

A retail impact assessment accompanying the application says there will be no adverse impact on the viability of Keynsham town centre, and a Lidl will benefit customers and local residents by providing discounted groceries at a time of what is a continued cost-of-living crisis.

Lidl says that, looked at cumulatively with the proposed Aldi on Bath Road, the impact on the town centre would still be within acceptable limits, with the main trade diversion to both stores coming from the Tesco at Bristol Road which is “trading well above its company average level”.

Lidl states that all potential impacts of the scheme can be appropriately mitigated and there will be no adverse impacts.

The store’s proposed opening hours are 7am to 10pm Monday to Saturday, including bank holidays, and 10am to 4pm on Sundays.

It will have a bakery and 1,529sq m sales area, with 135 car parking spaces including nine disabled bays, nine parent and child spaces and two rapid electric vehicle charging spaces.

Vehicular access is proposed via an upgraded junction that serves the current Jewson site. The Glenavon Timber Services entrance will be stopped up and reinstated as a footway.

Lidl says the development will incorporate pedestrian-friendly access points and cycle parking facilities to promote walking and cycling for local shoppers.

There is said to be good public transport access with the nearest accessible bus stop on Bath Road about 350 metres from the proposed store.

A transport assessment says the store is not expected to generate a significant increase in primary new trips on the local highway network, with most traffic transferring from other food store locations within Keynsham and the wider area, or diverting off the A4, resulting in a redistribution of existing trips within the local area.

Sustainability measures include heat recovery systems and air source heat pumps, with roof-mounted solar panels capable of providing up to 25% of the store’s energy requirements. Landscaping proposals include new trees and hedges.

The planning reference is 26/02094/FUL and the deadline for comments to the council is 13th August.