Plans for Lidl store approved

Budget supermarket chain Lidl’s plans to move into Macclesfield have been approved.

Lidl has been given permission to open a new store on the ‘Towers’ site, between Park Lane and Parsonage Street, which has been empty for many years.

The application was unanimously approved by councillors at the Northern Planning Meeting at Macclesfield Town Hall.

Seconding Councillor Carolyn Andrew’s proposal to approve the application, Coun Liz Durham said: “This proposal would bring economic benefits through the delivery of new retail, jobs and investments, bringing a prominent, vacant brownfield site that we all have hated for many, many years into viable use, and in one of the key gateways to Macclesfield town centre.”

She added that it will also bring more footfall into the town centre. We lost our fight against an out of town centre, we do not want to lose this one. I would very much welcome it.”

Overall, the scheme will cover 40,000 sq ft, including 14,000 sq ft of retail space, car parking for 88 vehicles, and a new public frontage to Park Green.

A previous application by Lidl for the site was withdrawn following a review by Places Matter, which raised a series of design issues, including “an overcomplicated material palette” and “poor links around the site”.

The architect planned to use perforated copper cladding on the building combined with a concrete façade along the lower levels.

Councillors said there should be a “strict condition” in place to make sure the cladding would be compatible with fire safety regulations.

Planning officers said the proposals would “respond well to the Park Green conservation area” and local heritage assets, but committee members said this had “no justification whatsoever” and the assertion was “highly subjective”.