Relocation of Bangor Lidl agreed despite opposition from locals and Tesco

Tesco said the development would “risk” Bangor City Centre

A new Lidl supermarket has been approved for Bangor in North Down, on the opposite side of a roundabout to the outgoing Lidl.

Ards and North Down Borough Council’s Planning Committee this week voted through an application for the relocation of the existing Lidl supermarket from 97 Bloomfield Road to west of Bloomfield Road South and South of Skipperstone Park, despite opposition from locals and from Tesco Stores.

The chamber at the Planning Committee in Church Street Newtownards was split, as were the parties, with seven elected representatives in favour of the application, from Alliance, the UUP and the DUP, three against the application from Alliance and the DUP, and one abstention.

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The application was analysed favourably by the independent organisation Nexus Planning, and the plan was recommended for approval by Ards and North Down planning officials. The Department for Infrastructure Roads Division had no objections.

The plan involves the demolition of existing dwellings at the new site, the erection of a larger Lidl discount supermarket, landscaping, and the provision of access and car parking on the opposite side of the Bloomfield Road roundabout. There will be a removal of bus lay-by, a relocation of a bus shelter and relocation of pedestrian footway between Bloomfield Road South and Skipperstone Avenue.

The existing building at 97 Bloomfield Road is to be retained but retail use is to be extinguished. The site upon which the supermarket is to be located occupies an area of approximately 1.15 hectares and is currently occupied by vacant residential bungalows.

The applicant said the larger store means products can be stacked at a lower density, making them more accessible to all, including the elderly and mobility impaired. They also said additional storage space ensures deliveries are kept to a minimum, improving the sustainability of the store. 100 new trees will be planted at the site, with new hedging and shrubs.

There will be 147 car parking spaces, and at 2.7 metres wide, they will be larger than the standard 2.4 metres. There will be two electric vehicle charging spaces and 8 cycle spaces.

The application saw 10 injections from four addresses, including from Tesco.

Regarding Tesco, the council planning report states: “This representation raises concerns about the risk of a significant adverse impact on designated town centres. It states Bangor City Centre is vulnerable as a result of the growth of Bloomfield Shopping Centre and Retail Park and that a growth of even 0.9 percent must still be considered significant due to this vulnerability.

“The representation also raises the prediction that 8.1 percent of the proposals turnover would be derived from Bloomfield District Centre, resulting in an adverse impact of 1.7 percent on this centre. It is stated this expected impact on centres and the failure to provide robust evidence of qualitative need should result in refusal of the application.”

The report added: “It is also notable that Tesco Stores Limited did not engage with the pre-application community consultation event.”

Other objectors queried why an existing unit within Bloomfield Retail Park could not be adapted, while others insisted approval should be conditional on the redevelopment of the existing Lidl retail site for social housing, to help off-set the loss of residential dwellings.

Objectors also raised concerns about traffic and road safety, loss of public infrastructure, inadequate parking provision, air quality and environmental issues.

The planning report states: “The applicants submitted a letter to the council in October 2024 confirming that Lidl had engaged with Housing Associations in relation to the prospect of redeveloping the site for affordable housing in the event that the current application is successful.”

The council planning official stated: “I am satisfied the proposal will not adversely impact upon these proposed regeneration schemes for Bangor town centre. The Queen’s Parade development has a limited amount of convenience floorspace included, much lower than that of the proposed application.

“The Queen’s Parade redevelopment in particular has been planned for a number of years, with both public and private interests involved. The aim of Queen’s Parade is to provide much needed regeneration to Bangor City Centre and increase the overall vitality and viability of the city centre.”

They add: “The application has been advertised in the local press and no representations have been received from developers of potential regeneration schemes within the town centre.

“Overall, although the Nexus report concludes the impacts on existing centres to be materially higher than those set out…, it considers that the proposed Lidl will not result in direct store closures. Although Nexus is concerned about Bangor City Centre, they do not find the impacts of the proposal would reach the level of ‘significant adverse’.”

They added: “Given the statutory expertise of DFI Roads, significant weight is afforded to its professional advice. Having considered the information submitted in support of the application, the third party objections… and the consultation responses from DFI Roads, I am satisfied that the proposed development will not result in unacceptable adverse harm in terms of traffic and road safety. I am also satisfied that the level of car parking provision is sufficient to serve the proposed development.”

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