A budget supermarket chain is hoping it will be third time lucky after resubmitting plans for a new Lidl in Eastwood.

The chain, which has three stores in the borough already, has submitted a third planning application for a site in Eastwood on the corner of Progress Road and Rayleigh Road, which it bought for £1.1million this summer.

Planners at Southend Council turned down earlier proposals in April as they were deemed out of keeping with the area, but the firm, which also has its eyes on Prospects College’s old site off Fairfax Drive, believes it has resolved those issues.

Planning officials said the design was ‘too boring’, as they wanted a landmark building to go there as it is the entrance to the Progress Road Industrial Estate.

It is understood the German giant has bought out neighbouring Essex Timber and Plywood in order to push through the plans.

A spokeswoman for Lidl said: “We have re-submitted our planning application for the Eastwood site with the proposals incorporating the amended designs that were requested by the council.

“The new designs will include more glazing at the front of the store, which will offer a more vibrant view from the road.”

The supermarket chain has already started demolition work on the former Safestore site in order to make way for the new store, should planning permission to be granted.

The proposal has divided Eastwood, with three quarters of visitors to a public consultation backing the scheme, but nearby businesses signing a 53- signature petition against it.

The store will create 40 jobs if it opens, and offices on site will see another 53 roles created, but the plans will mean the timber store next to it, which has been on Rayleigh Road for 30 years, closing.

Julie Hacker, 55, of Hudson Road, in Eastwood, said: “There is nothing like a Lidl around here – we have to go into either Westcliffh or Southend so it’s well located. For the elderly who aren’t that mobile it will be ideal to them. Leigh has got an Aldi, but Eastwood doesn’t have anything. It’s about time we have one here.”

 

Business divided over proposals

BUSINESSES are divided on whether Lidl coming to Eastwood would be a good thing.

One shop claims the supermarket could turn Rayleigh Road into something of a High Street, while a nearby foodstore claims it will disrupt their business.

Sam Ashton, volunteer at the South East Essex Animal Trust charity shop, said: “I think it will be positive, as parking is hard around here, so it’ll bring more people onto the road to shop with us.

“It will make this area more of a High Street.

“We mostly sell clothes so it doesn’t affect us too much, but the smaller newsagents it could damage.”

But Robert Byford of Byfords Food Hall, in Eastwood Old Road, claims the supermarket will add to traffic problems in the area.

He said: “It is ill-conceived chaos with the traffic as that junction is already very busy.

“It’s so busy we don’t take deliveries from 5pm to 7pm and only after 9am in the mornings.

It should be a non-starter. It could also put other supermarkets in the area out of business.”

 

The march of the discount supermarket

Discount supermarkets are on the rise in south Essex as chains shy away from building huge stores.

As the likes of Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, and Asda change business tack to create smaller “local” stores in town centres, discount chains Lidl and Aldi have the south of the county on their radar.

Lidl has stores in Woodgrange Drive, Southchurch, off Sutton Road in Southend, and a unit in London Road, in Hadleigh.

The German giant is also on the verge of signing a deal with Prospects College for their old site in Fairfax Drive, as revealed in the Echo last week.

Meanwhile, Aldi, which has stores in Southchurch, Southend, and Chalkwell, revealed last month that south Essex is on its hitlist.

The discount retailer announced it aims to have 1,000 stores nationwide by 2022 – between 60 and 65 opening next year.

Aldi said it is looking for sites in Billericay, Canvey, Basildon, Leigh, Rayleigh, Southend and Stanford-le-Hope.