Detailed plans for a new Lidl superstore on Ipswich’s Anglia Retail Park on the site of the former B&Q garden centre have been recommended for approval.
Members of Ipswich Borough Council’s planning and development committee will meet today (October 19) to discuss details of the proposal, which was provisionally given the green light earlier this month.
The application has been submitted by Ipswich Borough Assets, a property company which is owned by the council. The store would be built by IBA and leased to Lidl.
Work for the store is expected to begin early next year, and be handed over to Lidl the following summer. This means it is possible that the new Lidl could be open by Christmas 2023.
It is also expected to offer employment to at least 40 people.
Ipswich Borough Council has approved the application, with conditions attached. Before it can be brought into use, the warehouse building will have to achieve a sustainability assessment with a minimum rating of Very Good.
Details of the area’s landscaping, biodiversity and water drainage will also need to be agreed.
Steve Miller is the agent for the application. He confirmed that he supported the senior planning officer’s recommendations in the report.
It is expected that members will discuss details of the pedestrian and cycle access and the number of electric vehicle parking points
The supermarket will be Ipswich's third Lidl, with other stores on the junction of London Road and Handford Road, and another store currently under construction in Futura Park.
Colin Kreidewolf is the chairman of Ipswich Borough Assets, which owns the park and has submitted this application.
Speaking when the application was first submitted in March, he said: “"It would be a major boost for the retail park, but it is already doing very well and we are already looking at the possibility of increasing the number of parking spaces because we do hear that it is difficult to find space at some of the busiest times."
The number of parking spaces is now expected to be 813.
Members of the planning and development committee will meet today at 9.30am.
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