Lidl given the go ahead to fill empty Worthing unit
Released: Friday, 14 July 2023
We've given supermarket chain Lidl permission to take over an empty unit at Lyons Farm to open a new store.
Our planning committee has approved plans to convert the former Halfords unit at Downlands Retail Park and the neighbouring unit currently occupied by Bensons for Beds into one branch of Lidl.
The supermarket says the development will not affect its existing town centre store in North Street.
The new store will generate almost half of the energy it needs to operate from air source heat pumps and solar panels on its entrance canopy.
Cllr Caroline Baxter, Worthing's Cabinet Member for Regeneration, said:
“The new Lidl store will create more jobs for our community in a unit that could otherwise have continued to sit empty.
“The redevelopment of the site will also reduce its environmental impact, helping us move closer towards our goal of becoming a net zero town.”
The owners have pledged to improve the biodiversity of the site by installing bird and bat boxes, bug hotels and hedgehog houses in the landscaped areas.
Lidl has agreed to spend up to £75,000 helping to fund improvements to the Lyons Way junction to ease congestion and improve pedestrian links to the other retail units including Sainsbury's. The applicant is also making a financial contribution to help mitigate any impact on air quality and will introduce a travel plan to encourage staff to come to the store by sustainable modes of transport.
Photo: The unit currently occupied by Bensons for Beds and the former Halfords unit at Downlands Retail Park, Lyons Farm
(PR23-095)
Page last updated: 18 April 2024