End of line on battle to stop Wolverhampton Lidl expansion
Residents fighting the expansion of a Wolverhampton supermarket say they have reached 'the end of the line' after they lost a two-year battle.
Lidl has been given permission to go ahead with a controversial expansion in Finchfield, despite the plans causing outrage among the community.
A public inquiry was held after Lidl appealed the refusal of planning permission for a 25 per cent expansion of its Finchfield store.
The move would see the demolition of a Victorian house next door, owned by Lidl. Wolverhampton City Council chiefs blocked the company's right to bulldoze the house, saying it was part of the area's history.
But now the Planning Inspectorate has granted the appeal, meaning the work can go ahead.
Residents today criticised the decision and said it was wrong that a historic building would be lost forever.
Tettenhall Wightwick councillor Andrew Wynne said: "Residents have contacted me to say how disappointed they are that a residential building which is one of the surviving dwellings from the original 19th Century settlement will be demolished."
