A new Lidl has been granted planning permission to open a new store in Weston Coyney, Stoke-on-Trent

However councillors were not unanimous in their decision with some saying with councillors arguing that more needs to be done to keep money in retail centres.

The Lidl is set to be located on the site of a former care home on Weston Coyney Road and approval of the scheme was recommended by planning officers. There were no objections from statutory consultees, however 28 members of the public objected to the application compared to the five that supported it.

The application was subject to objections from Tesco and the Co-operative Group who both claimed that the site is in the wrong location and would have a significant impact on local centres in Meir and Longton. A retail analysis conducted by Lidl suggests that the impact on the Co-op on New Kingsway, Weston Coyney would have a 10 per cent trade loss, however the Co-op suggests that this could be closer to 20 per cent.

The agent representing the Cooperative Group said: "On behalf of my client the Cooperative Group we oppose the recommendation to approve this application. They do not object to competition, in fact they believe customers benefit from greater choice but this choice must be in the right locations and meet all the necessary planning policy tests.

The new supermarket is expected to bring around 40 jobs to the area (Lidl).

"The Co-op own analysis forecasts that the impact of the Lidl food store on the New Kingsway Co-op would be closer to 20 per cent rather than the 10 per cent suggested by the applicant. The Co-op is already under trading and a further 20 per cent impact would threaten the store's viability and make it vulnerable to closure."

Upon questioning by councillors it was unclear how the 20 per cent trade impact figure was arrived at and the agent was unable to provide further information. Planning officers also noted that they wrote to the Cooperative group asking for more information and it wasn't forthcoming. 

Local ward councillor Ross Irving (Con) spoke out against the development and told the planning committee that a survey was conducted with residents which raised a number of concerns. He appealed for the committee to reject the application to stop the retail sprawl.

Councillor Irving said: "What I am asking for is the committee to seriously consider whether or not we want to see stores such as this move out into the urban and could possibly be called as rural areas and outside town centres. I believe we should try and stop the retail sprawl coming out into the suburbs and I don't see the necessity for a further Lidl development considering the two that are so close to it."

The site is expected to bring 40 new jobs to the area and it is expected that 80 per cent of the jobs will be recruited from the local area within five minutes of the site. The application will be subject to a section 106 agreement that will contribute £53,125 as a contribution towards biodiversity net gain. 

Matthew Stocks from WSP who are acting as the planning agents for Lidl told the planning committee: "There were late objections submitted to the application by the Co-op and Tesco prior to the committee in August. The application has been under consideration since January 2023 and the council's expert advisers assessments have been publicly available since April so it was disappointing that despite all the resources and opportunities available to the Co-op and Tesco the comments were only submitted following the publication of the previous committee report.

"It is unfortunately a tactic we often see used by retail competitors with perhaps the aim to disrupt the democratic decision making process. The site is in a highly sustainable and accessible location within easy reach of local residents, the approval of the application in front of you today will bring significant benefits to Stoke, providing jobs and local convenience retailing for the community."

Councillors were split in their decision with some arguing that the trade that would be diverted away from existing shops in both Meir and Longton town centres would be too great. However, only three councillors voted against the development with six members of the committee voting for approval and was therefore successful.

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