Hucknall Lidl: Fears raised new store will be further delayed or even scrapped

Planning permission for the project was first granted by Ashfield Council’s planning committee during lockdown back in 2021.

The store was set to be built on the site of Hucknall Town’s former ground on Watnall Road.

At the time there were some objections, most notably from Tesco, amid claims of inadequate assessment of the impact the store would have on town-centre trading.

However, it was felt these could be dealt with without the need to bring the plans back before the planning committee again.

Moreover, there was broad public support for the project with many residents in the Watnall Road area of the town welcoming the prospect of the new store.

Last autumn, it was believed that all the issues had been sorted and work was due to start within a matter of weeks.

But almost two years since the project was first give the green light, the football club has moved to its new home on Aerial Way and the old ground has been knocked down but there is still no sign of work starting to build the new supermarket.

In the meantime, plans have now also been revealed for 82 new houses to also be built on the site where the supermarket is set to be.

Your Dispatch has contacted local councillors and Lidl for comment and to establish just where the project is at this moment in time and whether it is still going to happen.

Your Dispatch is also asking local councillors whether:

The houses will still get built regardless of whether the supermarket was built or not? The building of the supermarket was a requirement to the housing plans also getting the green light and if the supermarket plans are axed, does this mean the housing plans will be be axed too? If that is the case, will the site then be opened up for new developers to submit plans for again and will priority be given to projects such as Lidl over housing?