Lidl store at former Worcester factory set for green light
A machinery works looks set to be demolished to make way for a supermarket and trading park, after plans put forward by Lidl were recommended for approval.
Hybrid proposals put forward by the German discounter in November last year would see a 23,500 sq ft foodstore built at the former Bromyard Road factory, with outline permission for five trading units and two incubator units on the four-acre plot.
Lidl completed its purchase of the Bromyard Road-facing portion of the site, known as the South Works, in October 2024.
Five small trading premises and two incubator units are included in plans set to be deciced next week. Credit: Whittam Cox via planning portal
Approval for the plans would spell the end for all existing South Works buildings, which include a two storey office block, and an assembly building fitted with heavy duty cranes.
The site, around a mile from Worcester city centre, was built as the home of mining machinery manufacturer Mining Engineering in the 1920’s – but operations were wound down by 2022 before the sale of the vacant works to Western Trading Group.
The former factory also contains a bomb shelter, built to protect workers during air raids in World War Two.
“The proposed scheme seeks to bring a new food store and commercial units to Worcester, providing greater food store choice and employment opportunities to the local communities,” said a design statement supplied with the application.
“This proposal will be constructed to a high quality with sensitivity to the local environment, employing contemporary and sustainable design and materials to create an attractive, high quality building which is appropriate to its surrounding built environment.”
In their report, due to be considered by the committee next week, city council planning officers said that the loss of employment land to retail would be offset by the potential 40 jobs created by the development, while the proposals industrial units would balance against the physical loss of employment land.
A sequential test had also ruled out the former Co-Op site at St Johns, which the applicant said was on the verge of being sold to another retailer, with exchange of contracts due “imminently”.
“Overall, whilst the loss of employment land and identified retail impacts weighs against the proposal, these adverse impacts are not considered to outweigh the benefits arising from the development,” their report concluded.
Designs for the scheme have been provided by Whittam Cox Architects. The project team includes Knight Frank, Rapleys, SCP, Cora IHT, FDA Landscape, DDA, and Tetra Tech.
The application will go before planning committee members at Worcester City Council for a decision on Thursday, 17 September.
- Documents and plans relating to the application can be viewed on Worcester City Council’s planning portal using reference: 25/00439/FUL
