Aldi store approved in town after Lidl legal row

Aldi has won permission for a new store in a Lincolnshire town after a four-year battle with rival Lidl.

The discount supermarkets had submitted competing bids for new stores in Horncastle, but planners said building both would harm the town centre.

At an East Lindsey District Council planning committee meeting on Thursday, councillors sided with Aldi's proposal for Spilsby Road, which include a petrol station, public toilets and a tourist information hub.

Councillor Richard Avison told the meeting: "Horncastle needs the biggest shot in the arm it can get. Aldi will bring more trade to the town."

Aldi had originally been granted permission in 2022, but that was reversed by the High Court after Lidl brought a legal challenge.

The judge ruled the council had failed to consider both supermarkets' plans together.

Both applications were approved in principle after lengthy debate at Thursday's meeting, but the deciding vote gave the nod to Aldi, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Councillors said the town was desperate for a cheaper supermarket, with residents travelling as far as Lincoln, Louth and Skegness to do their weekly shops.

Avison said Aldi would attract trade from those travelling to and from Skegness, without creating too much traffic.

He said Boston Road, where Lidl planned to build a store, was a "nightmare every day of the week", although highways officials said they were not concerned.

Guy White, the custodian of the closed Laurel petrol station which would become the site of the new one, said Aldi promised "real jobs and real futures for Horncastle".

"Lidl offers a supermarket and nothing else. With Aldi, I'm ready to deliver a fuel station, a tourist centre, a Taste of Lincolnshire shop and more," White said.

"Aldi would have a far bigger economic boost, while Lidl threatens local bakeries."

A spokesperson for Lidl said its application would "better protect the town centre, offer more choice and regenerate a brownfield site".

Meanwhile, Aldi promised up to 40 jobs and "more than just a food store".

Councillor Ruchira Yarsley said: "We really need something between Lincoln and Skegness – business in the town centre will carry on.

"The cost of living crisis means that a large number are struggling and need a supermarket which is convenient and easy to use."

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