MORE details have been revealed of a planned new Lidl supermarket on the site of a former social club in Chepstow.
The planning application submitted to Monmouthshire County Council shows the new store would have a sales area of 1,284sqm, an increase of 426sqm from the existing Lidl in the town.
A customer car park with 88 spaces would serve the development.
Up to 40 jobs will be made available at the new store, with all existing employees offered the chance to transfer and new jobs potentially created.
The social club, built in 1965, closed in 2019 and since then has fallen prey to trespassing, vandalism and theft, according to a planning statement.
It is said to be in “an extremely poor state of repair”, requiring substantial repair and renovation costs.
Lidl says its existing store in Bulwark Road “no longer meets modern shopper requirements” and cannot be extended.
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The retailer says a bigger store is needed to meet local demand, promising this will deliver “an improved customer experience”.
A planning statement says that if approved, the new store will be built “at the earliest opportunity”.
“The Lidl development is proposed to serve the Chepstow area, whilst creating extra jobs, alongside redeveloping and enhancing a former social club site,” it adds.
In a pre-application consultation, some concerns were raised over a loss of car parking spaces current at the site, as well as worries over increased traffic.
Chepstow Town Council gave its support to the plans, while requesting that Lidl considers providing long stay public parking spaces.
In response, Lidl said the parking proposed is suitable for the new store.
It said the development would have “a minor impact” on weekday traffic and “very little impact” during peak times.
Monmouthshire council will assess the plans in the coming months.
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