A new Lidl supermarket could open on Ipswich's Anglia Retail Park in time for Christmas next year - if planning permission is granted for the proposal later this month.

The new store off Bury Road is due to be discussed by members of Ipswich council's planning and development committee on October 19 and the recommendation of officers is expected to be that permission should be granted.

It would be built on the site of the former B&Q garden centre which was cleared last year - and is seen as the final piece of the jigsaw so far as the redevelopment of the retail park is concerned.

The park is owned by Ipswich Borough Assets (IBA), the property company owned by the council, and the new store is to be built by them and leased to Lidl.

The planning application has been made by IBA - and if the committee members accept the recommendations of the officers, it is expected to go out to tender to find a developer to build the new supermarket later this year.

Work could then start early next year, and the store could be handed over to Lidl by the late summer meaning that it could be fitted out and open in time for the Christmas season of 2023.

The new store is expected to create 40 new full-time jobs and to have an annual turnover of about £14m.

It is expected to be open from 8am to 10pm Mondays to Saturdays and 10am to 4pm on Sundays. It will use up some of the parking space at the Anglia Retail Park – reducing the total number of spaces from 827 to 813.

It will be the third Lidl store in Ipswich. There is currently one at the junction of London Road and Handford Road. And a new store is currently being built on Futura Park - replacing the smaller Ravenswood supermarket.

The Anglia Retail Park store has taken longer than expected to reach the planning committee because officials had to undertake stringent checks to ensure it would not impact the town centre or threaten existing businesses in the area.

Before the Lidl store is built, the former Carphone Warehouse building at the retail park is expected to reopen as a branch of the Taco Bell fast food chain.