Plans for new Lidl on London Road Newbury approved

New store to be built on site of former Narrow Boat pub

Plans for a replacement Lidl store in Newbury have been approved.

The new store will be built on the site of the former Narrow Boat pub on the A4 and will replace Lidl's store on the junction with the A4 and Faraday Road.

Applicant London Road Limited had also applied to demolish the Bargain Buys store at the London Road Retail Park.

The application said that 40 new jobs would be created at the store and that 202 car parking spaces will be provided, an increase of 110, including two electric vehicle charging points.

The application received 25 representation letters, 22 in support, two objecting and one ambivalent.

Supporters said that the new store would provide more choice and competition and that the existing Lidl store on London Road was very poor quality by the company's standards. They added that the site is currently an eyesore but offered good access and parking.

Objectors raised concerns about the increased traffic from the store, the loss of the historic pub building, and poor parking and congestion on the site.

Approving the plans, West Berkshire Council said that the new store would boost the local economy during construction and would provide up to 40 jobs over the longer term.

Other sites for the new store had been ruled out, mostly because the available units were too small.

The council said it had no concerns about the potential impact on Newbury town centre in respect of potential lost trade.

The council said that the traffic generation figures were acceptable and would not result in unacceptable congestion on or
off the site, even at peak periods.

The cycleway and footpath running to the south of the A4 will be improved to become a three-metre-wide combined
footway/cycleway. A new designated footway link running from the A4 to the canal towpath is also included.

A new small park will be located to the north of the site in the original pub garden.

The council's conservation officer had objected owing to the loss of the historic Narrow Boat pub and the impact of the new Lidl store.

But the council said that although the historical association of the Narrow Boat and the canal was important, this
had been diminished by the surrounding commercial development and the building not being listed and of little architectural merit.

"The fact that it is an eyesore is unfortunate, but this is not the test applied, since the owner's decision not to invest should not be encouraged in this issue," the report said.

The Narrow Boat has been vacant since 2016 and is in a dilapidated state.

Documents state that there is no prospect of a pub reopening on the site and that a lack of demand, combined with the substantial costs of bringing the building back into use, meant it was not viable.

They add that the Covid-19 pandemic had cemented this position.

Lidl said it was leaving its current store on London Road because it is compromised in terms of its operational constraints.

“The existing Lidl is too small to meet the modern operator requirements of Lidl and the range and offer now expected by its customers.

“Lidl therefore has a pressing need to improve their existing offer to serve residents in the north and east of Newbury.”