Lidl of the Future store in Cross Hands recommended for approval

THE PROPOSED Lidl foodstore at Heol Stanllyd. Cross Hands has been recommended for approval by Planning Officers ahead of the planning committee this Thursday (Jul 21) citing it as “the only deliverable foodstore scheme for Cross Hands”.

The supermarket first revealed in 2015 that it wanted to open a brand new store in Cross Hands, as part of its ongoing expansion ambitions within the UK.The multi-million pound investment, will see Lidl build a sustainable, glass-fronted 2,362m² store on the 2.32 acre site. The supermarket will boast state of the art facilities including an in-store bakery, longer-style tills with dual packing facilities, customer toilets, baby changing facilities and ample parking for both cars and bicycles. Upon opening, the development will also create 40 new jobs for the local community.

Along with its cutting edge design, the ‘Lidl of the Future’ store will also go a step further to streamline processes and maximise efficiency and reduce its environmental impact. The building reduces the CO₂emission rate by over 20% when compared with a building of the same type, size and use; that’s circa 40 tons of CO₂a year, which is equivalent to flying a jumbo jet over 700 miles. The fully glass fronted façade maximises natural daylight entering the building, whilst sensor controlled exterior sun blinds automatically operate to mitigate the effects of unwanted heat from solar gain.

The supermarket, which was crowned ‘Best Supermarket 2016’ by readers of Good Housekeeping, a title previously held by Waitrose, has experienced continued growth over the years as consumers flock to the shop to discover products ranging from quality British fruit and vegetables to premium wines from its much coveted wine cellar collections. Lidl’s success shows no signs of slowing, as the latest Kantar Worldpanel results outline its continued growth and market share high of 4.4.

The new store in Cross Hands will add to Lidl’s existing store portfolio of 630, and will form part of the company’s growth plans which hope to see this increase to 1,200 store in the future.