£4m Lidl store set for go-ahead
A £4 million Lidl supermarket, which will create up to 25 new jobs in Willenhall town centre, is set to finally go ahead after five years in the pipeline.
Proposals for a 17,000sq ft Lidl store on the Samuel Parkes Lockmakers site are due to win approval from Walsall Council planning chiefs next week.
Lidl, which specialises in budget grocery sales, has been hoping to set up a base in Willenhall for five years and could open next Easter.
The scheme has encountered a series of delays after a formal application for the store in New Road was submitted earlier this year.
It was due to be considered by Walsall Council development control committee in May until rival developers Dransfield Properties raised an objection.
They contacted the authority to oppose the plans as they were looking at a mixed-use residential and retail scheme, believed to be a Tesco store, in Upper Lichfield Street.
A report has now been completed and councillors are set to grant approval, subject to conditions, on Tuesday.
