Travellers on Stansted Road site of proposed Lidl in Bishop’s Stortford do not appear to have disrupted store plans
Lidl has served an eviction notice on travellers who have set up camp on the site of its proposed supermarket in Bishop’s Stortford.
But their arrival does not appear to have disrupted the company’s plans for the land, even though it has been sitting on planning permission for 21 months.
Vehicles moved onto the former Gates Ford dealership land in Stansted Road on Tuesday afternoon (Sept 24).
A spokeswoman for Hertfordshire Constabulary told the Indie: “Police were called at just after 4.05pm to report that an unauthorised encampment had set up on private land off Stansted Road in Bishop’s Stortford.
”Officers are monitoring the area while the landowner works to resolve the situation.”
A spokesperson for Lidl told the Indie on Thursday lunchtime: “We can confirm that an eviction notice has been served to trespassers occupying land at our Bishop’s Stortford site.
“On timings for the new store, whilst we’re aiming to begin demolition work before Christmas, there aren’t yet any firm timescales and we’re a little way off being able to confirm an opening date.”
The £12m new store was first announced three years ago. The discount supermarket chain revealed in August 2021 that it wanted to make a “multi-million-pound investment” in the Stansted Road site.
It applied to East Herts Council (EHC) for planning permission for a 25,639 sq ft (2,382 sq m) branch with a retail area of 15,220 sq ft (1,414 sq m), an in-store bakery, customer toilets and 147 parking spaces, including 10 for the disabled, 10 parent-and-child bays and two electric vehicle charging points.
The scheme, which would create 40 new jobs, was approved by EHC’s development management committee in December 2022 after it was deferred by councillors earlier that year. The council had received 91 objections centred on access, traffic and noise for neighbouring residents.
A spokesperson for Lidl told the Indie in late July that the company would be looking to start on site “later this year” and an opening date was yet to be confirmed.
