Lidl vs Council Standoff? Supermarket giant still “committed” to Connah’s Quay plans despite delays

German supermarket giant, Lidl, has said it is still “committed” to its plans to build a new store in Connah’s Quay.

After securing planning permission from Flintshire Council, Lidl intends to construct a new 2,274sqm supermarket, bringing 40 new jobs to the Quay.

However, questions about the project’s start date are resurfacing as the former Somerfield site, earmarked for development and plagued by anti-social behaviour, remains untouched.

The development journey has been long. In September 2021, the council confirmed “commercially sensitive discussions” with an interested party, later identified as Lidl.

The site has been empty since 2012 after its closure, which resulted in the loss of over 30 jobs.

In November 2021, Lidl officially expressed interest in the site. They revealed plans to demolish the existing building and construct a 2,274sqm store.

The company also stated its plan to close its Deeside Retail Park store in Queensferry and move staff to the new Connah’s Quay location.

After a public consultation and the submission of formal plans to the council in January 2022, permission was granted in November 2022.

In response to a query from Deeside.com this week, Lidl said that while they’re dedicated to the project, talks with Flintshire County Council about specific site-related details are ongoing.

The popular supermarket chain has been discussing these plans for a while.

The exact nature of the talks or the specific details being reviewed with Flintshire Council remain undisclosed.

However, in April, Lidl mentioned “complexities with the council relating to the car park.”

Lidl said this week, “We remain committed to realising the plans for this development and are discussing certain details with the Council.”

Lidl’s statement ends with, “We have no further updates at this moment.”

At the time of writing Flintshire Council was unable to add any further detail to Lidl’s comments.

Residents and those closely following the development are keenly waiting for more news from Lidl. The new site developments will offer job opportunities and boost the local economy.

On Wednesday, Lidl reported an annual UK loss of £75.9mn for the year ending February. This is in contrast to its pre-tax profit of £41.1mn from the year before.

This decline happened even with an 18.8% revenue increase to £9.3bn and 1.5mn more customers served.

The loss is due to aggressive expansion, higher staff costs, and price cuts.

Still, Lidl and Aldi have expanded quickly in the UK over the last twenty years, attracting budget-conscious shoppers.

Recently, Aldi added Queensferry to its list of target towns. It plans to open 500 new UK stores, including 20 by the end of 2023.

This announcement followed the opening of Aldi’s 1000th store in Woking, Surrey.

This expansion is part of a two-year £1.3 billion investment. It will increase Aldi’s UK stores to 1,500.