A new Lidl will open in Shieldfield after winning the backing of councillors.
Newcastle City Council has approved planning permission for the supermarket on a patch of vacant land in Stoddart Street. It is hoped that the store will generate 40 new jobs in the area, though it had attracted opposition from rivals Tesco.
The German chain's scheme was backed by the local authority's planning committee on Friday, where Ouseburn ward Labour councillor Paula Holland said: "The residents in Shieldfield only have the option of a couple of small, grocery-type stores which inevtiably don't give you the choice requied. I volunteer in a community cafe and every time I am there this is the first question I am asked – when are we getting a new supermarket?
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"They are desperate for this kind of provision because for a lot of elderly residents it is a bus journey up to Shields Road or into town. It would be lovely to have this facility on their doorsteps and students will use it too because the choice will be much greater than it is [currently]."
There were 31 letters of public support in favour of the new store, which will have 81 car parking spaces, two electric vehicle charging points, and stacks for 10 bikes.
But Tesco representatives had accused Lidl of undertaking inadequate assessments of existing retail centres and suggested two “preferable” alternative building sites – next to Morrisons on Shields Road or at Carliol Square in the city centre. Tesco, which has a small Express store on Stoddart Street, claimed that the new store would have a "strong likelihood of causing a significant adverse impact", but a council report concluded that it would not be “significantly harmful.”
While councillors did raise concerns over opening and delivery times, and parking, the application was approved unanimously by the planning committee.
Newcastle City Council’s director of place, Michelle Percy, said: “A new Lidl store in the heart of the community is to be welcomed. It will transform an ugly brownfield site into a place where families can buy affordable food within walking distance of their homes without the need to get public transport. The investment will create construction jobs and 40 full-time jobs in the store. These will provide employment opportunities for local people while boosting the economy in Shieldfield.”
