Lidl is considering its options after councillors refused permission for a new supermarket in Tadley despite almost 7,000 representations in favour of it.
West Berkshire Council’s district planning committee voted nine-to-two to refuse Lidl’s application for a store on land south of Ravenspring Farm at its July 8 online meeting.
The meeting heard Lidl has received 5,531 responses to its consultation, 93.9 per cent of them in favour, while the council received 1,141 representations, of which 92 per cent were in favour.
The council’s eastern area planning committee had voted to approve the scheme in December 2019.
But the district planning committee agreed with its officers’ recommendation to refuse on grounds of the development being on a greenfield site outside of any defined settlement boundary and for its visual impact.
Many of the representations bemoaned the lack of an alternative to the town’s only supermarket but the site falls outside the Tadley boundary.
Basingstoke and Deane borough councillor for Tadley South, Cllr Kerri Carruthers, said afterwards: “Myself and fellow Tadley councillors and the leader of Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council had all shown support but we were not allowed to speak.
“The people voting tonight were not the people who would benefit from this store.”
A spokeswoman for Lidl told Thames Tap: “We have received overwhelming support from the local community for our plans to deliver a store to Tadley and share their disappointment in this decision.
“We want to reassure residents that we remain committed to bringing our fresh, quality and great value produce to the local area.
“We would also like to take this opportunity to thank all of those who have shared positive comments with us throughout the planning process and particularly following the Committee’s decision.
“We will now take some time to consider next steps and will share an update on our plans as soon as we are in a position to do so.”
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