Latest Lidl plan for Walsall is rejected
Discount supermarket giant Lidl has failed in it’s latest bid to get permission to build a brand new store on a busy gateway into Walsall.
Concerns over highways safety and traffic issues put paid to the company’s plan to take over the Metro Inn and Broadway Bar and Grill site on Birmingham Road at the Broadway junction.
Lidl said a new outlet would improve customer choice for shoppers in the area and provide 40 full time equivalent new jobs while representatives said assessments showed there would be no significant highways issues as a result.
But members of Walsall Council’s planning committee unanimously voted to refuse the application at a meeting on Thursday.
A total of 111 objections were received from people in the area who said the new store would only exacerbate existing congestion problems, especially at peak times, and cause more accidents.
Other reasons for opposing it included the loss of jobs at the hotel and bar, which was described as a vital community hub.
Paddock ward councillor Waheed Rasab said the area is a ‘centre point’ of Junctions 7,9 and 10 of the M6 motorway and when they are closed, the traffic impact is felt on Birmingham Road.
He said: “As a council we encourage any development and the creation of new jobs in the borough.
“But there are some fundamental issues that Lidl has failed to take into consideration when putting this proposal forward.
“This development is going to create havoc for the residents. We have been contacted by many who live and work in the area.
“On the double roundabout, an accident happens almost every day. They don’t get reported to the police but get reported to the local councillors.
“The commencement of works for the Sprint Bus lane in 2024 will cause congestion and make turning traffic in and out of the site hazardous.
“A Lidl store is currently one mile up the road so how will this one create jobs? It will only just move staff from this site to the other.”
Daniel Wheelwright, of Lidl’s agents Rapleys, said he was ‘disappointed’ to see officers had recommended refusal for the scheme, part of a multi-million investment in Walsall.
Earlier this year, the company was given the green light to take over the struggling Horse & Jockey pub in Walsall Wood and replace it with a new branch.
Lidl was also given permission to build a new store on Walsall Road, on the town’s border with Sandwell, while an application for an old Bingo Hall site on Park Lane in Darlaston is also currently being considered.
Peter Todd, technical director at Lidl’s highways consultants SCP, said sufficient parking would be provided on site and there was no evidence there would be a severe impact on the busy road.
He said: “It is acknowledged the Broadway junction struggles at peak times however this is an existing issue and since customers do not have to undertake food retail trips in the peak hour, it is much more likely Lidl customers will avoid times of known congestion rather than add to it.
“It has been clearly demonstrated through an assessment of the existing accident record that the local highways network is operating safely.
“Only seven slight severity accidents have occurred at the Broadway junction with none on Birmingham Road.”
Committee chairman said: “This committee supported the one at Tamebridge and we supported the one at Walsall Wood contrary to the officers recommendations.
“I’ve heard about keeping the other store open. I’ve been here a long time, I don’t believe that- you might keep it open for a period of time.
“But that is irrelevant. What we are talking about here is being a matter of highways safety. I’ve never supported any application that has an element of concerns of highways safety.”
