Lidl is planning to open a new supermarket on the site of an industrial works in Stockport. The budget retailer has submitted proposals to demolish Cheadle Heath Works - currently home to a printing firm and a joiners - to make way for another supermarket in the area.
The company told the Local Democracy Reporting Service, it was unable to disclose any further details at this time - but confirmed the store would be ‘in addition’ to its nearby branch at Councillor Lane, in Cheadle Hulme. Cheadle Heath Works is based on Stockport Road - a key route for drivers making their way towards the M60 in both directions.
A Morrisons, Aldi and a B&M are close by, while there are also plans to convert the old Farmers Arms pub into a drive-thru Greggs. New jobs and more affordable goods would undoubtedly be a boost for the area, but there are already concerns over increased congestion on the busy stretch.
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Boundary changes mean the proposed site will fall within the new Cheadle East and Cheadle Heath ward from May - moving it into Coun David Meller’s patch should he be reelected. Coun Meller, whose current Cheadle Hulme North ward is next door, says he has some misgivings over the scheme. “To be blunt, my concern is related to traffic congestion in the area if and when anything is approved,” he said.
“The travel plans and transport plans are going to have to be absolutely robust and watertight, from my point of view. Obviously it’s an opportunity to create some jobs in the ward, which is important.
"But my real fear is you are building a supermarket on the edge of a slip-road for a motorway. That’s my real concern - how much traffic and congestion it could bring.”
He also fears that the new Greggs drive-thru, coupled with a new Lidl, could be ‘a recipe for potential bedlam’. He continued: “I’m not against it, I’m not for it, I’m sitting on the fence.
"But the one key factor is the impact on the highway and Stockport Road. If it’s going to create a whole load of congestion I don’t know if it’s going to be suitable, but the ball is in Lidl’s court to address the concerns I have got and residents have got.”
However, he acknowledged the store would also bring benefits to the area. “The positives are it will create jobs and being a discount store in these times is valuable as well."
If approved by Stockport council, Lidl expects demolition work at the two acre site to be completed by the end of March next year.
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