Proposals for a new 1,900 sq m Lidl supermarket alongside eight individual employment units in Southport have been approved by Sefton Council.
The new scheme will be built on land at Marine Drive / Crossens Way creating 90 new jobs.
The development would create up to 90 new jobs, including 30 at Lidl and up to 60 at the new business units.
Lidl already operates a store on Virginia Street on the edge of Southport town centre, but has been keen to open its second venture in the town on the northern edge of the resort where there is limited competition.
The firm said: “Lidl has had a requirement to deliver a new store to serve the residential areas in northern Southport for many years.
“Potential options have been explored but the company has been unable to identify a site of a suitable size that is available for retail development, with it being the case that the scale of potential sites is simply too small, or the land is reserved for residential development.”
Lidl has submitted a Construction Environmental Management Plan to the council with work expected to take place this year.
In his report to councillors, Sefton Council Chief Planning Office Derek McKenzie said: “The proposal is an appropriate use of this land.
“It has been demonstrated that there are no sequentially preferable sites for the proposal. The proposal will not lead to a significant adverse impact on existing, committed and planned public and private sector investment in Southport town centre.
“There will be relatively limited impacts on in-centre convenience goods operators through trade diversion from the proposal, which is unlikely to directly impact on the viability of those stores. The proposal will be a positive addition to the character of the area.”
There has been wide support from residents living in Crossens, Banks, Churchtown and Marshside, as well as Southport Athletic Junior Football Club.
They say the new Lidl is a “welcome introduction to the area and could serve the area well particularly in view of nearby housing developments”; “addresses the lack of supermarkets nearby”; “would reduce the need for people in Crossens having to travel to the town centre or Kew for food shopping”; “provides wider choice for the consumer, particularly a more affordable / cheaper option in the area”; “improves an existing eyesore”; and “creates job opportunities for the neighbourhood in the foodstore and the small industry proposals”.
There were a handful of objections from some nearby residents and on behalf of Tesco Stores Limited and the Co-op Estates.
Specific reference was made to the failure of the application to fully consider the potential impact on planned investment in Southport town centre and Banks Village centre.
The new Lidl store on Marine Drive would also serve customers in local Lancashire communities in Banks, Hesketh Bank and Tarleton.
The land was previously earmarked for employment use. But a lack of sufficient interest meant that developers believed that a hybrid use between a Lidl supermarket and eight business units was the best answer.
Sefton Council granted planning permission in December 2018 for the development of a 4,304 sq m gross employment scheme for occupation but this was not implemented.
Plan A (North West) Limited, which submitted a Planning and Retail Statement for the scheme, said: “Saltmarsh Estates secured planning permission for an employment development across the whole of the application site in 2018.
“However, whilst a marketing campaign by commercial agents indicated that there was some level of occupier interest, this interest was insufficient to enable the development to commence and, as a result, those parties that were interested have now secured accommodation elsewhere.
“Therefore, the developer has been forced to re-appraise its intentions for the site and to explore alternative options to enhance the viability of delivering speculative employment floorspace in this location under the prevailing economic conditions.
“The proposals have, therefore, evolved on the basis that the Lidl store development will enable the employment development to be brought forward in a viable manner and support the comprehensive development of the site.
“The substantial investment by both parties will deliver significant economic benefits, including the creation of new employment opportunities, to the benefit of the local communities.”
The new Lidl store would have a 1,256 sqm sales area and include an in-store bakery, customer toilets and 111 car parking spaces including disabled, parent & child spaces and rapid electric vehicle charging points.
Lidl’s Regional Head of Property, Stuart Jardine, said: “Our existing Southport store is very popular and we have been looking for the right site to bring a second store to the town for some time.”
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