Lidl presses on with Elland store plan

The discounter wants to build a supermarket off Saddleworth Road in Greetland.

Plans and other documentation have now been validated on Calderdale Council’s planning portal, outlining Lidl’s plans for the former Horsfall’s Mill site in West Vale.

Advised by planner Rapleys, Lidl wants to build a 21.745 sq ft building, of which the sales floor would account for 13,469 sq ft. The store would have 85 parking spaces.

The professional team also includes architect HTC, transport and travel advisor SCP, Brownfield Solutions, Toppings Engineers, Purcell, Miller Goodall, Enzygo, FDA Landscape, AWA, Signify and DDA.

Lidl’s proposed site abuts the West Vale district centre and currently includes five homes, along with an office block that is the last remaining building of the works that used to occupy the site. Most of the site’s buildings were demolished in 2016.

There was some controversy over the plans in late 2022, when residents were asked to relocate from the site as plans came together for preparatory works, a matter that was resolved with the input of local councillors. Lidl’s plans then went to public consultation in early March.

In April Lidl, which along with rival Aldi is the fastest growing brand in the UK grocery sector, revealed its nationwide site acquisition plans, a project that includes around 80 sites across Yorkshire & the Humber.

A sequential assessment carried out by Rapleys is included in the planning documents, showing analysis for four alternative sites in Elland town centre and around West Vale district centre, all of which are deemed less suitable at this time.

The planning reference for the Lidl project is 23/00360/FUL.