Plans for new supermarket are approved

Councillors gave the go-ahead last week to the proposals by the German company to build a second, larger store near the town’s railway station.

It’s current supermarket will shut after the new store is created next year.

The site in Station Road was previously used by Veolia Water Management but has been vacant since 2012.

Chris Jones, the planning agent acting on behalf of Lidl, said at the Strategic Planning meeting last Thursday: “Our proposal is to replace the existing Lidl site on Station Road with a larger and more modern site a short walk away.

“The existing site has traded successfully for nearly two decades and has seen significant growth during that time.

However, the success has meant that the existing site suffers from various problems particularly congestion with the car park.”

He said the new site would have more car park spaces, be able to hold more stock for customers and would be a sustainable development.

The new store will include a larger car park, with around 145 spaces.

Coun Graham Turner said: “I would like to move to approve this planing application which will bring a derelict building back into use.

“It will alleviate some of the pressures that as we all know exist in Mirfield.”

A report to the planning meeting last week, prepared by council officers, recommended the application for approval.

The report said: “In conclusion the proposed new food store is in principle considered to be acceptable and would facilitate the relocation of the existing store on Station Road to larger premises.

“The proposal is considered to have an acceptable impact on Mirfield in retail terms and would lead to the redevelopment of a currently redundant brownfield site which has been vacant for a number of years.

“The proposal is considered to be of an acceptable design and scale, and would have an acceptable impact upon highway safety. The proposal would not harm the character of the local area.”