COUNCILLORS are being recommended to say yes to a new Lidl store on the edge of Dartmoor at Bovey Tracey.

Members of the Teignbridge council planning committee will meet next Tuesday to consider the application from the German budget retailer for a new store off Monks Way. Council officers are advising them to give the new store the go-ahead.

Lidl wants to build a food store with parking and landscaping on a piece of land north of Marriott Way on the outskirts of town. It could create around 40 jobs, according to the report to the planning committee meeting.

It explains that when Lidl first came up with plans for a Bovey Tracey branch the company sent nearly 6,000 questionnaires to local homes. Of those who responded, 1,500 were in favour and 600 objected.

The report says the application is a departure from the council’s policies because the land has previously been earmarked for employment purposes, not retail. However, shopping is not specifically banned.

The proposed site of a new Lidl store at Bovey Tracey (Google Street View)
The proposed site of a new Lidl store at Bovey Tracey (Google Street View) (Google Street View)

If it goes ahead, the store will cover 2,000 square metres and have 100 parking spaces, thus being one of the company’s smaller outlets. There are a number of new homes being built on land close to the site.

Objectors quoted in the report say there is no need for another store in Bovey Tracey and that it will encourage more car journeys. Others, however, say it will improve the shopping offer in Bovey Tracey and reduce the need to drive to Newton Abbot to do a larger shop.

If permission is given, it is likely to include a number of conditions including a deadline of three years from now for construction to begin, and limits on opening and delivery times.

Lidl was founded in Germany, and its first UK store opened in Warrington in 1994. There are now more than 900 Lidl stores in Britain.