Budget supermarket chain Lidl has withdrawn plans to build a store on a site off London Road West in Bath after concerns including the “severe impact” it would have on local roads.
How the new Lidl store could have looked | Photo © Lidl GB
The planning application for a Lidl to the east of Bath Rugby’s training ground at Lambridge was lodged with Bath & North East Somerset Council in June 2023.
It involved building a 2,283sqm store, creating 81 car parking spaces, access for vehicles and pedestrians, and landscaping.
The retailer, which already has a branch off Lower Bristol Road on the other side of Bath, said the new store would create 40 new jobs.
But the scheme has now been axed although another planning application is likely to be submitted “in due course”.
Joanna Wright, the local Green councillor on Bath & North East Somerset Council, said: “Myself and councillor Saskia Heijltjes, as ward councillor for Lambridge, have been against the development of a supermarket at this site because we know already how problematic and congested the strategic road network is on the east of Bath.
“This site would have caused even greater disruption to local highways, whether you are a driver, cyclist or walker.
The site where the Lidl would be built | Photo © John Wimperis
“Coupled with the real threat of impacting our UNESCO status by placing a superstore at a historic gateway and threatening local businesses, this application was never going to get through planning.
“That’s why Lidl have withdrawn this application, they don’t want to be seen to lose. No doubt they will try again.
“The fight will continue to stop any supermarket being built on this site.”
In total, 1,194 people had lodged objections on the council’s planning portal. There were 402 comments in support, while 23 people also left uncategorised comments.
One objector, John Eames, wrote: “This proposal rides roughshod over the value of greenery, earth, flora and fauna in a way we can no longer afford globally.
“It is unnecessary as Bath is well-provided with supermarkets across all price sectors. Lidl already have a Bath store. Their presence on London Road will damage the Larkhall community of shops.”
Another objector, Bryony Wade, observed: “The London Road is really very busy and usually more or less at a standstill. Any more traffic – and there would be lots from a supermarket – will make it a permanent gridlock. The area for the proposed development is a lovely wildlife haven and a necessary green space to help counteract the pollution from the road.”
But supporter Susan Lock commented: “Bath is in need of a further discount store and this design presented at the current Lidl’s store shows an awareness of the requirements of a green build.
“This store would also alleviate the current store of the large numbers using the original store and help reduce the travel at the Lower Bristol Road.”
Lidl had said its plans, which included a green roof on the store, bird baths, bat boxes, bee towers, and retaining the woodland by the river, would actually increase biodiversity on the site, which is currently a field surrounded by trees, by 40%.
The retailer also stated it had “searched exhaustively” for suitable locations, and that the London Road site was considered to be the most suitable, accessible, and convenient.
At the end of April, the council planning officer assessing the application advised Lidl that the traffic modelling demonstrates a “severe impact” which alone would be reason for refusing the scheme.
She added: “Having reviewed the scheme and heritage assessment and, following comments from our heritage officer and Historic England, it can be concluded that there is heritage harm to a number of heritage assets, including the World Heritage Sites and Conservation Area.
“Even with mitigation, and the good design of the scheme, there is concluded to be harm, which I do not consider to be outweighed by public benefits.”
In addition, the planning officer said the proposed store “would, in the view of the council, threaten the ongoing trading of the centres of the Co-op and McColl’s in Larkhall”.
A letter sent to the council on behalf of Lidl last Friday, 5th July, noted that a highways consultant had spoken with council officers regarding the need for further traffic surveys on the wider London Road network, including at both the Morrisons junction and A46 roundabout.
The letter from a director of Lidl’s planning consultants explained: “These surveys are supplementary to the information that has already been provided but are meaningful in terms of a more extensive assessment of traffic and highways interventions that Lidl would make to help improve the accessibility of the area to both vehicle users and pedestrians/cyclists.
“The surveys do, however, take time and they need to be scheduled in a way that is acceptable to officers, and then analysed before the final information can be presented.
“Officers have expressed concern about the surveys being undertaken during the summer months, when they consider that traffic will be less representative (due to school holidays and the number of visitors to Bath during the summer season).
“This means that the surveys could not be completed to their satisfaction before September.
“Given officers have not been willing to agree to defer determination of the application while this work is undertaken and have pressed for it to be considered at committee at the end of July, this does not provide sufficient time for Lidl to instruct and complete the work, and for officers to have given due consideration to the outcomes.
“As the applicant, Lidl has also suggested additional areas of significant investment, and offered commitments to wider sustainability and transport improvements in the area, which have not yet been discussed with officers further.”
On this basis, the director said that Lidl does not want the application to be taken forward to committee and “reluctantly” withdraws it.
He added: “I will be back in touch in due course with a view to taking the proposed development forward through a new planning application and PPA agreement (planning performance agreement).”
A spokesperson for Lidl said: “We remain fully committed to opening a new Lidl store in Bath to give even more households access to high quality, affordable produce.
“To ensure that our application is as robust as possible and contains the results of vital highways surveys, we have withdrawn our application with a view to resubmitting it later in the year once we’ve had an opportunity to carry out these surveys.
“We look forward to working with the local Council on the updated application and to providing further updates to residents in due course.”
John Wimperis, Local Democracy Reporter | With additional reporting by Becky Feather
