Lidl’s store looks set for approval

Cheshire East’s Northern planning committee will discuss proposals by Lidl for a 14,000 sq ft store on Parsonage Street in Macclesfield at a meeting next week, with a recommendation to approve.

The project, designed by Space Architects, sits on a 1.4 acre site off Parsonage Street, Park Green, and the A536. The site, previously used for offices and light industrial, has been vacant for around 10 years.

It includes around 14,000 sq ft of retail space, car parking for 88 vehicles, and a new public frontage to Park Green. The overall scheme covers around 40,000 sq ft.

A previous application by Lidl for the site was withdrawn following a review by Places Matter, which raised a series of design issues, including “an overcomplicated material palette” and “poor links around the site”.

The architect plans to use perforated copper cladding on the building combined with a concrete façade along the lower levels.

The proposals are expected to create 25 full-time equivalent jobs.

In recommending the scheme for approval, council planning officers said: “This proposal would bring economic benefits through the delivery of new retail jobs, investment in the area, and by bringing a prominent vacant brownfield site into viable use on one of the key gateways to Macclesfield town centre”.

Officers added the scheme was acceptable in terms of its impact on local traffic and parking facilities within the town centre.

The professional team includes SCP as transport planner and Wardell Armstrong as environmental consultant. Cheshire East’s Northern planning committee meets on 17 January.