A Pembrokeshire supermarket will be nearly a half bigger and employ up to 40 people after plans for a next-generation store were approved today, October 8.

In an application recommended for approval at the October meeting of Pembrokeshire County council’s planning committee, Lidl Great Britain Limited sought to demolish the existing Lidl foodstore and adjoining properties – including the Enterprise Rent-a-Car unit – at Great North Road, Milford Haven, building a new Lidl foodstore with associated works.

A supporting statement through agent CarneySweeney said: “The existing Lidl store is small and of an early generation format. Owing to Lidl’s well-established and growing local customer base, Lidl has outgrown its existing premises which no longer meets modern shopper requirements, and a larger store is sought to better serve local customer demand.

“In addition, the existing store is inefficient with regards to warehouse operations. The proposal for a new store aims to alleviate the problems presented by the existing store.”

It added: “The development is suitably scaled to be no larger than necessary to address identified storage and staff needs and improve the existing store. Moreover, the new store will be better equipped to meet Lidl’s operational requirements, modern day staff requirements and better serve local shopping needs.”

The application says the development would create up to 40 jobs.

The car park will provide 93 spaces, including six disabled spaces, nine ‘parent & child’ spaces and two EV charging spaces, an increase in overall provision of 11 spaces.

An officer report accompanying the meeting said: “The application site comprises the existing Lidl foodstore and its associated car park; a car rental premises fronting Gt. North Road immediately to the north; and three dwellings (Nos. 61, 61a & 61b Gt North Road) which contain the car rental premises to the north and west. No 61 directly fronts Gt North Road and is semi-derelict. Nos 61a & 61b have been unoccupied since late 2020 and early 2021 respectively.

“The car rental premises is a former petrol filling station and underground storage tanks are understood to be situated beneath the site. These are to be removed. The overall application site extends to 0.74 Ha and is owned and controlled by the applicant.”

At the October meeting, members were told the proposal would lead to a 45 increase in the store’s retail sales area, the investment replacing the existing “first generation” Lidl store, believed to be the discount chain’s first store in the county, with an expected “30 per cent increase” in jobs when the development is built.

Approval was moved by Cllr Brian Hall, who said: “I think this will be a vast improvement for that area of Milford Haven.”

He was seconded by Cllr Rhys Jordan, who said he thought it was the first Lidl in Pembrokeshire, adding: “I think it will be very welcome to the people of Milford Haven, given the cost-of-living crisis there’s been a huge increase in the use of these stores.”

Another welcoming the proposal was Cllr Mark Carter, who said: “Milford Haven has more people living in it than Haverfordwest, but has a choice of two major supermarkets at the moment, Haverfordwest has four.

“It’s going to have a modern, fresh frontage to it which will brighten the area up; it will provide the people of Milford Haven with a better choice of goods to buy; I fully support this application.”