Lidl looking to expand across Black Country, Staffordshire and Wyre Forest

Among the areas earmarked for new stores are Dudley, Smethwick, Kidderminster, Cannock and Wolverhampton.

Lidl has published its annual list of key areas across the country where it is interested in acquiring sites for potential store development. It forms part of the company's plans to have 1,000 stores in its portfolio by the end of 2023.

The company is seeking prominent sites, which must be easily accessible and have a strong pedestrian or traffic flow. It is also interested in mixed-use sites.

As part of its ongoing plans, Lidl has committing to investing £1.3 billion in its store expansion over 2021 and 2022.

In the Black Country, Lidl is looking to build new stores in Great Barr, Quinton, Smethwick, Brierley Hill, Dudley, Lye, Oldbury, Sedgley, Stourbridge, Walsall, Aldridge, Bloxwich, Walsall Wood, Wednesbury, Wolverhampton, Penn, Tettenhall and Wednesfield.

In Staffordshire, the company is looking for development sites in Burntwood, Cannock, Codsall and Penkridge.

Bosses say they are also looking to build a new store in Wyre Forest too, as they search for a location in Kidderminster.

Lidl also wants to build a number of stores in Birmingham, including in Edgbaston, Harborne, Kings Norton, Perry Barr and Selly Oak, as well as Sutton Coldfield.

Christian Härtnagel, chief executive officer at Lidl GB, said: "We are calling on developers and landlords up and down the country to help find potential sites for us to build Lidl stores, which demonstrates the continued ambition we have to further expand our store portfolio across the nation.

"Despite the challenges of the past year, we still managed to meet our ambitious target of opening, on average, one new store per week across Great Britain.

“We are looking forward to opening more stores throughout the country and welcoming new colleagues in the coming months and years, so that more communities can access quality food at the lowest prices on the market.”

All the stores will include Lidl's bakery, offering freshly baked bread, biscuits and pastries. In addition, all new stores will feature solar panels on the exterior to provide renewable energy for the site, as well as the installation of electric vehicle charging points.