Tesco 1, Lidl 0

Tesco’s grip on Welshpool’s consumers looks set to continue with planners expected to reject plans for a Lidl supermarket on waste land (pictured) opposite the supermarket giant.

The proposal lands on the desk of the Powys County Council’s Planning Committee tomorrow (Tuesday) from 10am in Neuadd Maldwyn with a strong recommendation to say no.

Among the reasons are that opening such a store, which would create up to 40 jobs, would draw more business away from the town centre and that Lidl have got their catchment area figures wrong.

Planning Officer Steve Packer believes Lidl should instead thoroughly investigate using the vacant Co-Op building on Berriew Street for their store.

His report to the council concludes: “Lidl contend that there is a quantitative need for the store.

“However their assessment is considered flawed in that included a larger catchment area than could be justified. The council’s retail consultant is of the view that there is not a quantitative or qualitative need for the store, which is a consideration in its own right in policy terms.

“The empty Co-op store is in a preferential location where it is an integral part of the town centre and the possibility of restructuring it to accommodate Lidl’s floor space, and investigating the possibility of use of the existing car parking has not been thoroughly explored.

"The applicants have not been prepared to consider the purchase or leasing of part of the central car park and have not given any detailed account of why the existing building is unsuitable for adaption.”

“In summary, we consider that the proposal is not located within a defined centre or on a site allocated for retail or town centre use in an up-to-date development plan and the applicants have provided a flawed assessment of retail need.

“In this respect we consider that the application has failed to identify a clear quantitative need for the proposed development.

“The applicants have underestimated the impact on Welshpool town centre because the retail need assessment is flawed and has overestimated the amount of expenditure available to the proposal.

“Furthermore, the likely turnover of the proposed Lidl store has been significantly underestimated.

“As a result of this, a greater amount of trade will be diverted from existing facilities, thus having a serious impact on the turnover of existing facilities.”