A new bid to build a new Lidl supermarket, health centre and nursery on the edge of a Herefordshire town has been put forward. The discount retailer’s new planning application is for a new Ledbury store and care nursery on four acres of farmland beside the roundabout where Leadon Way, the A449 Ross Road and B4216 Dymock Road meet.
It also seeks outline permission for a new medical centre alongside it, as well as a new road entrance onto the B4216, and pedestrian access from the north (Leadon Way) side. A previous bid by the company for a similar scheme was refused in January 2021 due to its likely impact on the town, with an appeal against the refusal dismissed in September 2022.
But Lidl now says that there has since been “a material change” to the context of development in and around the town, and that the new bid “incorporates a smaller foodstore”. A “well-attended” public exhibition held in the town in June drew 85 expressions of support from the 100 attendees, its current application says.
Its plan “would increase and improve the retail offer and boost the local economic benefit of Ledbury”, a statement with its application says – providing employment, training and career development. A new nursery “will expand the limited options currently available in Ledbury” while the medical centre “should elevate [sic] the strain on the current medical needs of the residents of Ledbury”.
How the new store would look
With a sales area of 1,100 square metres, an unusual feature of the Lidl branch would be “green”, living panels on the south wall. The two-storey nursery would meanwhile have six classrooms as well as a large hall and studio on the first floor, and two outdoor play areas. Both it and the supermarket would have roof-mounted solar panels.
The development would have 115 parking spaces along with covered cycle spaces. Details of the medical centre, including how it would be accessed, will follow in a later application. Hedgerows surrounding the site would be retained, while native trees and wildflower areas would be planted, creating a landscape buffer between the development and its surroundings.
Comments on the planning application can be made until January 12.