Lidl in Portishead gets go ahead - but still no decision on Sainsbury's

 

PLANS for a new Lidl supermarket and hotel in Portishead have been given the go ahead - but a decision whether a Sainsbury's store can open in the town still hangs in the balance.

North Somerset Council north area planning committee met this week to discuss plans by both Sainsbury's and Lidl to open stores in the town.

And although councillors gave the green light to plans for a new 25,000 sq ft Lidl store, cafŽ, 60 bed Travelodge and car park at Harbour Road, they deferred making a decision on whether Sainsbury's could build a new store at Serbert Way.

Council chiefs have appointed consultants to carry out an independent evaluation of Sainsbury's retail assessment, submitted with its planning application, which examined the impact a new 30,000 sq ft store would have on the vitality of shops in the town.

The move came after bosses at the Co-operative Group, which has a store at Wyndham Way, warned they would mount a legal challenge against North Somerset Council if it allowed Sainsbury's to open in the town based on the 'flawed' information contained in the report.

Work on the evaluation is due to be completed this week and the Sainsbury's application is expected to go before councillors again next month.

Co-op chiefs also raised concerns about the opening of a Lidl store, saying it too could impact on the vitality of other shops in the town.

However they said they did not have the same level of concern about the Lidl plan - as the majority of the site was within the town boundary - and were unlikely to legally challenge a decision to approve the scheme.

The four storey supermarket and hotel development, on land formerly used by the Harbourside Family Practice, will see Lidl open on the ground floor.

Hotel bedrooms will be built above the supermarket, with 25 rooms on the first floor, 24 on the second and 11 on the third.

The development, which will create 50 new part and full time jobs, will also have a 109 space shopper car park.

The 48 spaces earmarked for the Portishead railway station when it opens, will be retained.

Initially councillors and railway supporters had raised concerns at the scheme, because part of the development was on land earmarked for the station park and ride facility.

Developers were asked to go back to the drawing board and came back with a revised scheme, which has seen the parking layout revised to protect the park and ride spaces.

Improvements have also been made to the access to the site, with a new entrance to the railway station created from Harbour Road.

As well as the Co-op, Portishead - now the second biggest town in North Somerset - has a Waitrose supermarket, an Iceland store and a Budgens convenience store.

The new Sainsbury's store would create 270 full- and part-time jobs, have an in store bakery and a 338 space car park.

Store bosses are also looking for a site to build a second petrol station in the town and are considering calls to open a post office facility within the new supermarket.

Community leaders in Portishead said Lidl would be a welcome addition to the town.

Portishead councillor David Pasley, who is also chairman of the north area planning committee, said: "We have to provide the people of Portishead with the range of services which they need.

"Research shows that around 40 per cent of people go out of town for their shopping and I hope by providing a wider range of retail outlets it will encourage people to shop locally and support local businesses.

"A store like Lidl complements the existing retail mix and I do not believe it will be harmful to the High Street.

"It will give the people of Portishead more choice."

A spokesman for Sainsbury's said the supermarket giant was confident that an independent third party would agree with the council's original recommendation that the store should be approved.

 

 

* Do you think Sainsbury's and Lidl will be good for Portishead? What stores would you like to see in town? Let us know at Portishead People!