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East Herts Council approves £12m plans for Bishop's Stortford Lidl store that will create 40 new jobs




Plans for a Lidl store in Bishop's Stortford – the sixth supermarket in the town – have been approved by East Herts Council.

After a two-hour meeting, East Herts Council's development management committee passed the discount retailer's proposals for a branch on Stansted Road.

Lidl and Whittam Cox Architects say the plans for the Gates Ford motor showroom and garage will create 40 new jobs and represent a £12m investment.

Plans for a new Lidl in Bishop's Stortford (61193907)
Plans for a new Lidl in Bishop's Stortford (61193907)

East Herts planning officers warned councillors the project represented a departure from the district's development blueprint – which earmarked the site for industrial rather than retail use – but recommended they should approve the scheme based on a "direct benefit" to the economy.

One planner said: "There are material considerations which we feel outweigh the policy [to earmark the site for industrial development]. They include job creation, the investment into public transpor... and encouraging choice in the range of shops and suppliers."

That view was not shared by a neighbour, Cheryl Sauvary, who spoke out to oppose the design of the development.

Cheryl Sauvary and her disabled daughte Vanessa
Cheryl Sauvary and her disabled daughte Vanessa

She called on Lidl to reconsider its plans for the site entrance, a change in fencing to reduce the store's impact on neighbours and a roundabout on the B1383 Stansted Road to minimise congestion.

Mrs Sauvary said: "As local taxpayers, we don't want our taxes to be used by highways at a later date to rectify issues which could be solved today."

She added she and her daughter Vanessa – who is vulnerable and disabled – feared the impact of increased traffic on an already busy road.

Mrs Sauvary said: "What you decide here could be life-changing for our family and we don't want to have to put our daughter into a residential care home."

Cheryl Sauvary lives next door to the current exit for Gates. Lidl proposes to use the same entrance and exit. Cheryl is concerned she will be unable to reverse from her driveway with all the extra traffic when transporting her disabled daughter. Pic: Vikki Lince
Cheryl Sauvary lives next door to the current exit for Gates. Lidl proposes to use the same entrance and exit. Cheryl is concerned she will be unable to reverse from her driveway with all the extra traffic when transporting her disabled daughter. Pic: Vikki Lince

Bishop's Stortford's Cllr Mione Goldspink, leader of the Liberal Democrat group on the council, spoke as a community advocate, not a committee member.

She said the project was "controversial" and urged her colleagues to consider the traffic impacts of the scheme carefully. Her colleagues were reminded that Hertfordshire County Council, the highways authority, raised "no in-principle objection" to the proposals.

Officers also told the committee the scheme would bring about a 1,000% biodiversity net gain, according to a Government "matrix", with trees, hedges and landscaping.

Cllr Mione Goldspink (61193925)
Cllr Mione Goldspink (61193925)

Councillors voted to grant permission for the new Lidl subject to 35 planning conditions.

Work must not begin until the council has reviewed detailed landscaping proposals, and officers said any scheme must be drawn up in consultation with neighbours.

Lidl Bishop's Stortford (61193904)
Lidl Bishop's Stortford (61193904)

The developer must also not start work before drawing up detailed designs for a new set of traffic lights controlling entry to the store and a southbound bus stop for the 301 Saffron Walden and 306 Clavering services.

The impacts of lighting must be "minimised" and no home delivery service can be provided from the store.

A design statement by the developer reads: "The proposed scheme seeks to bring a new food store offering to this part of Bishop's Stortford by redeveloping an existing commercial site whilst also providing wider choice to consumers and generating new employment opportunities.

"This proposal will be constructed to a high quality with sensitivity to the local environment, employing contemporary and sustainable design and materials to create an attractive, high-quality building which is appropriate to its surrounding built environment."



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