New Lidl supermarket could be opened in North Yorkshire near to Tesco and racecourse

The discount chain leafleted local residents for their views about the new store – which is anticipated will create 40 jobs – in April, before formally lodging an application over the summer. Members of Redcar and Cleveland Council’s regulatory committee, which meets on Thursday, are being recommended by council officers to green light the potential development, off West Dyke Road.

The application site is currently used for horse box parking, which will be relocated, and also contains a grassed area away from the racetrack. The new Lidl would be a relative stones throw away from the existing Tesco supermarket and petrol filling station further along West Dyke Road. As well as the foodstore, which will contain a bakery, and warehouse area, it will also comprise customer toilets, staff welfare facilities and associated office space.

An improved access road in roughly the same location as the existing access point in and out of West Dyke Road will be created. A dedicated car park containing 119 spaces is proposed, which will include accessible parking bays, ten parent and child spaces and two rapid electric vehicle charging spaces, while six bike stands will accommodate 12 cycles.

A report by planning officers said there had been 32 objections to the proposal, although 26 representations received were supportive. A ‘sequential assessment’ based on Lidl’s requirements had suggested the former Coatham Bowl site on Majuba Road as a potential location, but otherwise the council’s town centre monitoring data had confirmed and corroborated information the chain had supplied that there were no sequentially preferable sites.

Meanwhile, a review completed by consultants on behalf of the council said the planned supermarket would not have a significant adverse impact on the vitality or viability of Redcar town centre or other local centres.

Referring to the impact on the character and appearance of the area, the report said: “The proposal reflects a traditional food store design [with a] single storey flat roof. Due to the location of the building, in between the existing Tesco and the racecourse, the proposal would not have an adverse impact on the street scene.”

It also said the Lidl would have “no overbearing impacts” on nearby homes on the opposite side of West Dyke Road due to sufficient separation. The council’s development engineers had also assessed the application and raised no objections from a highways point of view.

The report said: “The submitted impact assessment shows that the proposed store would have a minimal impact on the local highway network and that the existing junctions would be able to cope with the traffic.”

Other Lidl stores currently operating and the nearest to the proposed location are in Guisborough and Middlesbrough’s Cargo Fleet Lane.