Proposals for a Lidl store off Manston Road in Ramsgate have been approved – just scraping through at Thanet council’s planning committee last night (May 20) by one vote.
The proposal, which attracted three letters of objection and 295 letters of support, is planned for land at the rear of Tesco and between The Beacon mental health centre and Manston Road.
Lidl says the proposal will create around 40 jobs, full and part time.
Plans for the site include a store with 1,516 sq m sales area, bakery and toilets/baby changing facilities.
Some 122 parking spaces are proposed including six accessible, nine parent and child and two electric charging points. Landscaping is also planned and a new bus stop is indicated close to the store entrance. There will also be solar panels on the roof.
The owner of the private road which runs between the Tesco and Lidl application sites spoke at the meeting to say he did not oppose the supermarket application but there needed to be amendments to take into account linked trips between Lidl and Tesco and the safety of pedestrians making those trips.
In response to concerns, the discount supermarket has agreed to a condition for double yellow lines to be put in place to improve visibility for pedestrians.
Reptile ‘compensation scheme’
Councillors at the meeting did raise concerns – including some anger that the land was cleared without any mitigation being made for reptiles at the site and instead an agreement being made for a £80k ‘reptile compensation’ scheme at Pegwell Bay Country Park.
Cllr Mike Garner said: “I am extremely perturbed by some of this. The reptile compensation plan compensates for the reptiles that have already been wiped out because the site was cleared. So, basically ‘let’s help a few reptiles somewhere else.’ The clearing on the site (presumably had) an impact on nesting birds, potentially, because it was done in the bird nesting season.”
‘Land bank’
Cllr Garner also commented on Lidl’s campaign to get approval for the store by buying the site and removing the possibility for housing. Thanet council says the site was allocated for housing in the Local Plan, Lidl disputed this saying it was merely highlighted as ‘suitable’ for housing.
Referencing comment by Lidl’s agent that if planning was not approved then the site would be land banked, Cllr Garner said: “We are being told either accept this or nothing will happen on that site. We either approve it or it stays a now decimated site with nothing living on it.”
The land had previously been granted permission for 48 houses before Lidl bought it and Cllr Garner noted: “We have lost 48 houses and they have got to go somewhere else. Because of what’s happening here we are going to have to have another site that is not allocated for housing but will get permission for housing because of what Lidl has done here.”
Cllr Steve Albon also highlighted the land banking comment, saying: “I feel like I have had my arm twisted up behind my back.” However, he also noted the ‘positives’ such as the jobs that will be created.
Cllr Kristian Bright also branded the clearance of the land without lizard mitigation as ‘vandalism’ and noted that if the site was left empty, nature would reclaim it.
He added that he was “kind of wondering whether we should call their bluff.”
Cllr Jack Packman also raised the ‘removal’ of housing allocation and reiterated the need for safety in the area of the private road.
Cllr Becky Wing said she was concerned about the ‘morality’ around the application and also the 91% biodiversity loss.
Choice and access
There was support from Cllr Linda Wright, who said the new store would give choice to people in Cliffsend without the need to travel to Westwood. Cllr Jenny Matterface also noted the prospect of more choice with less travel and Cllr George Rusiecki said the area it is in and the job creation was “brilliant” and would help serve those in new housing developments surrounding the site.
Investment
Lidl’s regional head of property, Adam Forsdick, also spoke at the meeting, saying: “This multi-million pound investment would create jobs for local people and regenerate a brownfield site.
“The new Lidl store would provide improved choice of discount shopping for Ramsgate residents and bring much-needed competition and keep expenditure within the local economy.”
He added that it would result in “access to fresh, healthy and affordable food during a cost of living crisis.”
