SHOPPERS are upset as plans to build a new Lidl store in Grove are set to be refused once again.
Proposals for a branch of the discount supermarket chain on land at Grove Road were resubmitted earlier this year after previously being rejected by the Vale of White Horse District Council.
A final decision about the latest application will be made at a meeting of the district council’s planning committee on Wednesday (17).
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However officers have recommended the supermarket be refused primarily due to the impact on the existing Co-op at the local Grovelands centre which “outweighs the benefits of a new Lidl store”.
The recommendation has been made despite significant public support in the area.
Andrew Holding, who started an online group called Lidl Wantage and Grove Supporters (Lidl WAGS) which has more than 500 members, said: “A lot of talk has been around the location and affect it might have on the Co-op in Grove but Didcot has two Co-op supermarkets, so why would one Lidl threaten one Co-op in Grove?
“The location is reasonably safe too with three minor accidents in five years and Lidl GB are planning to make the junction as safe as possible for all by installing a pocket junction which has proven to be safer for many other councils.”
Resident Lorraine Hill added: “It appears the only reason this application is being recommended for rejection is the perceived impact it would have in the Co-Op.
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“I have lived in Grove for 30 years and I used to regularly shop in the co-op but haven’t done my main shopping there for many years now because they simply don’t sell the range of items that they used to.”
Andrew Holding, who started the Facebook group Lidl Wantage and Grove Supports (Lidl WAGS) which has more than 500 members, said: “A lot of talk has been around the location and affect it might have on the Co-op in Grove but Didcot has two Co-op supermarkets, so why would one Lidl threaten one Co-op in Grove?”
Resident Lorraine Hill added: “I have lived in Grove for 30 years and I used to regularly shop in the co-op but haven’t done my main shopping there for many years now because they simply don’t sell the range of items that they used to.
“It is outrageous that all these houses have been built in Grove against the wishes of many existing residents and yet we can’t have a Lidl that many residents are in favour of.”
Angie Cassidy said: “I for the life of me cannot understand why an ever-expanding town like Wantage can’t have a Lidl.
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“We need a cheaper supermarket, if we had one then no one would have to travel out of town to shop.”
Maxine Gaw added: “As single mum working full time with a mortgage to pay and ever increasing costs, I can't afford to do my weekly shop in the limited stores that we currently have.”
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Read more from this author
This story was written by Gee Harland, she joined the team in 2022 as a senior multimedia reporter.
Gee covers Wallingford, Wantage and Didcot.
Get in touch with her by emailing: Gee.harland@newsquest.co.uk
Follow her on Twitter @Geeharland
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