Plans for Lidl rejected

County planners have rejected proposals for a new Lidl supermarket in Ross-on-Wye.

The budget store resubmitted plans to build a shop after it withdrew previous proposals for the Wolf Business Park on Gloucester Road last autumn.

The revised scheme would have involved demolishing part of the park and building the store on the 2.2-acre site.

Developers said it would have also created around 100 jobs at the store and by refurbishing the wider business park.

Herefordshire Council officers said they rejected the scheme last Friday because it would be detrimental to the long term protection of the historic town centre.

They also said Lidl failed to demonstrate why they could not use land or buildings within the defined central shopping and commercial area in Ross.

Other grounds for refusal included the unnecessary loss of trees, road safety concerns and it would result in the loss of employment land.

Ross East county councillor Paul Symonds said it was a difficult application but on balance it was the correct decision.

“This will obviously disappoint residents, particularly in the Hildersley area but we want encourage people to use shops in the town centre and will be putting together a transport strategy this year to make access easier,” he said.

“I’ll be speaking to county council officers to see how we can improve the way people engage in the planning process too, as a lot of views on social media were not captured by the formal planning process.

“We also need to work with Wolf Industries to see how this site can be improved or redeveloped, assuming Lidl do not appeal the decision.”

Lidl’s regional property head Paul Hebblethwaite said they were extremely disappointed with the outcome.

“Our proposals for the Wolf Business Park represented a significant opportunity to rejuvenate an important area of Ross on Wye, bringing investment and job opportunities along with the provision of greater shopping choice for local residents,” he said.

“Our teams worked hard to revise plans in response to feedback from the local community and consultees, and we would like to thank those who wrote to us in support of our application.

“We will now take time to consider our options and will share an update on our next steps in due course.”