New Lidl in Downham Market set for approval
It will go on land near the A10 roundabout on Bexwell Road
A new Lidl on the edge of Downham Market is likely to receive permission to be built – in a surprise move by councillors who had been advised to reject the plan.
The store, which would go up on on land near the A10 roundabout on Bexwell Road, does not yet have formal approval.
But permission is expected to be given by West Norfolk Borough Council following negotiations over a fund Lidl will contribute to soften any harm caused to footfall in the town centre.
Council officers had recommended that the store be rejected because it would supposedly cause “a significant adverse impact on the town centre”, as well as “harm the intrinsic character and beauty of the countryside”.
But at a meeting on Monday (April 4), the council’s planning committee voted by majority against refusing the project.
They then unanimously said they were “minded to approve” it, subject to successful negotiations about how much money Lidl will contribute to the town, and what specific projects it will fund.
Lidl had recently offered “up to £50,000” to help make the town centre a more attractive place, but some councillors were unsatisfied by the pledge.
Independent councillor Alun ‘Tom’ Ryves said: “I cannot see how the provision of some street furniture will make a meaningful impact.
“Lidl is a multi-billion pound company. I do not really consider £50,000, within the context of this investment, as anything more than pocket money.”
He added that the discount retailer would “eviscerate” the town centre.
The committee’s Conservative chair, Vivienne Spikings, agreed: “£50,000? That’s a drop in the ocean. It’s a sprat to catch a mackerel.
“Don’t think £50,000 is a lot, because it isn’t. What’s it going to buy, a couple of seats for the people that can’t shop anymore in Downham town centre?”
She added that the impact on the nearest home to the proposed store would be “colossal”.
Several councillors spoke positively about the project however, with Labour councillor Christine Hudson saying: “We are guilty of trying to tell the people of Downham Market what they want.
“There are a large number of comments in favour of building this supermarket, and who are we to tell the people of Downham Market where they should shop?”
The latest version of the plans had received some 97 letters of support and 12 objections.