A BRANCH of Lidl in Somerset has announced it will soon close as plans to demolish the store will soon be put into action.
The Wells branch of Lidl will close on Saturday, March 30 ahead of its imminent demolition to facilitate plans to rebuild and expand the existing store.
Lidl GB Ltd. applied in March 2022 to build a new supermarket on the A39 Strawberry Way, replacing both its existing store and building on the adjoining land left by the now demolished Travis Perkins outlet, near the Strawberry Way roundabout.
Somerset Council approved the plans in July 2023 which include the creation of a new dedicated cycle way to the north, to form part of the Strawberry Line, which will eventually run uninterrupted from Yatton to Shepton Mallet.
The new store, confirmed to open in February 2025, will increase in net sales floor space from 945 square metres to 1,414 square metres.
Although the sales area will take up the majority of the new store's footprint, warehouse and ancillary areas will bring the total area of the building itself to 2,269 square metres.
Access to the budget supermarket's new building will remain via the existing entrance located on Strawberry Way.
A total of 46 extra parking spaces will be created on site, bringing the total to 125, with an extra three disabled spaces and an additional 12 motorcycle spaces.
Electric vehicle charging points will also be provided.
Lidl stated the new store will create up to ten jobs, though the majority of these will be part-time.
Solar panels will adorn the roof of the new store, but will be adopted on a simple framework so that panels are fixed as close and flat to the roof as possible, to minimise visual intrusion whilst maximising the amount of energy generated.
The appearance of the rebuilt store will remain consistent with other, newer branches - using a mixture of grey cladding, with white render below and reconstituted stone plinth beneath.
Some feature areas will consist of reconstituted stone to the full facade, with the design planned to be 'complemented' by silver eaves guttering and rainwater pipes.
A site border of soft landscaping (turf, trees, grass, shrubs and flowers) is planned to further complement the store's appearance.
For more details on the new store, search reference 2022/0273/FUL on Somerset Council's online planning portal.
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