Plans for Lidl supermarket in Wellington approved at meeting

The German supermarket giant put forward plans to build a new store at the corner of Nynehead Road and the B3187 Taunton Road, not far from the Longforth Farm housing development.

Somerset West and Taunton Council’s planning committee was originally due to vote on the plans in May 2021, but the decision was deferred for unspecified reasons.

The same committee voted on Thursday afternoon (January 13) to approve the plans by a substantial margin – despite concerns about road safety, the delivery of the town’s new railway station, and the vitality of the town centre.

More than 500 letters of support were sent to the council regarding the application, compared to 26 objections and 23 letters which raised concerns.

But David Price, who lives in Wiveliscombe, warned that the popularity of the proposals should not cloud councillors’ judgement.

He said: “I recognise there is huge demand by the public for the Lidl store, but pressure does not mean we should grant it.

“The lack of a northern relief road will mean that more customers from the north of Wellington will use the rat run through Langford Budville and Nynehead to reach the store and the station.”

Access to the proposed store would be from Nynehead Road, just north of the existing roundabout and opposite the Cadeside Caravan and Motorhome Club Site.

The access road to the new store could end up serving as the access point to Wellington’s new railway station, which could open for passengers in 2026.

Councillor Janet Lloyd (whose Wellington East ward includes the site) said she was worried that approving this store would undermine efforts to bring people back into the town centre.

Wellington received £100,000 in September 2020 from the council’s emergency town centre recovery fund, to be spent on initiatives designed to boost town centre businesses in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

Ms Lloyd – who also serves on Wellington Town Council – said: “The town council feels a supermarket on this site will draw shoppers away from our lovely, vibrant town.

“We have been working very hard to use government funding to increase footfall in the town centre – and now officers are recommending a supermarket here. This seems a contradiction to me.”

Wellington resident Jacki Penny countered that a new supermarket would be essential given the town’s growing population.

She said: “The way Wellington is expanding, with thousands more homes planned, it can easily support and indeed desperately needs another supermarket.

“Apart from the very well-paid jobs this will bring, it will mean locals can shop locally, and people outside Wellington will be drawn to the town while there discover the many delightful shopping opportunities.

“Wellington will be viewed as a destination to explore, rather than just a sign passed on the main road. You owe it to the people of Wellington to pass this application.”

Up to 40 jobs in total will be created from the new store, Lidl has confirmed.

Councillor Marcia Hill said that approving the store would encourage people to shop more locally – and added that she did not believe the town centre shops would suffer as a result.

She said: “I don’t think [the idea of] travelling to Taunton [to shop] is a justification for refusal, since we’re trying to cut down on travel.

“I’ve never had so many emails about one application in all these years – and 99.9 per cent of those are begging me to approve it, which is rare.

“I would never turn my back on independent shops in the town centre, just because I shop in a cheap supermarket.”

The site is allocated for employment use under the council’s local plan and was originally intended to allow Wellington’s two biggest employers, Swallowfield and Reylon, to relocate away from their current bases near the former railway station site.

Councilor Mark Lithgow – whose Wellington North ward includes the two companies’ premises – said the store was preferable to creating a new industrial estate on this junction.

He said: “We are being surrounded by ever-expanding residential areas and we have not kept up with infrastructure. We have a requirement for such a store.

“They’ve done a very good job in the design. Would you really want big propane tanks with an industrial estate on the side of the road? I’d much rather have something like this.

“The empty shops in Wellington are in the process of being opened – it’s a very busy, vibrant, independent town. We don’t suffer from the problems that Taunton does, and we need to keep up with development.”

Several councillors raised concerns over whether residents would be able to safely cross the B3187 (where the speed limit is 40mph) to reach the store.

Councillor Loretta Whetlor said: “I’ve got a Lidl nine miles from me in Minehead. I am concerned about the speed limits – in Minehead they’ve cut it back to 30mph in some places.”

Councillor Ian Aldridge added: “I have done a ‘bad boys’ course’ for speeding, and you are told wherever has streets lights it should be 30mph.”

Councillor Roger Habgood – whose Monument ward includes numerous villages surrounding Wellington – said the store would meet local need and would be preferable to a further housing estate.

He said: “I’ve done plenty of emergency food parcel deliveries in Wellington, and I know there is a need for a lower-cost outlet – there’s no doubt in my mind about that whatsoever.

“The site itself wasn’t reserved [specifically] for the two employers – it was allocated as an industrial site. I’m not aware of any other applicants interested in that site.

“Wouldn’t we rather have something of service on there than another housing site?”

After more than two hours’ debate, the committee voted to approve the plans by a margin of nine votes to none, with two abstentions.