Community is torn over Lidl car park plans

A discount supermarket's plan to demolish houses and expand its car park has left a community divided.
A group of residents have raised concerns over Lidls car park expansion in Ossett.A group of residents have raised concerns over Lidls car park expansion in Ossett.
A group of residents have raised concerns over Lidls car park expansion in Ossett.

Lidl has bought four homes surrounding its store in Kingsway, Ossett and hopes to knock them down to create a further 47 parking spaces.

David Ross, 73, helped to launch a petition against the plans, which has been signed by 284 people.

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He said: “We don’t want them pulling down houses in a conservation area. It’s absolutely atrocious.

“We think as soon as planning is passed for a car park, there will be an application put in for an extension to the store. They are encroaching into the residential area.”

Wakefield Council has received 11 letters of objection to the discount chain’s planning application including one from Ossett UKIP councillor Nick Farmer.

A report to its planning and highways committee, which will meet on Thursday to decide whether to approve the proposals, said other concerns included the “unnecessary demolition of good quality housing stock” and noise disturbance from increased traffic.

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Twenty-five people wrote letters in support of the planning application.

One said: “The current car park is simply not big enough and at times the car parking is chaotic with cars spilling out on to the main road.”

A Lidl spokeswoman told the Express in February: “We have been open and honest about our ambitions to expand the store in the future, if the opportunity were to ever present itself.

“Currently, our only priority is to extend the existing carpark so that we can cater for our growing and incredibly valued customer base and ensure that parking spaces are available.

“The land purchased will enable us to do this.”