Full planning application submitted for Lidl store near Aston Roundabout

Lidl has submitted a full planning application for its proposed new supermarket near Aston Roundabout in Stone.

The application seeks permission to build the store on agricultural land at Forge Farm, Stafford Road, between the A51 and A34.

It marks a significant step on from the public consultation first reported by ALBOS in June and the environmental screening request which followed in August.

This time Lidl is asking Stafford Borough Council to approve the detailed development itself, including the supermarket building, car park, access from the A51 and landscaping.

The application, reference 26/42640/FUL, remains under consideration and no decision has yet been made.

ALBOS first reported on Lidl’s plans for the site in June.

What Lidl is proposing

The documents submitted with the application set out the scheme in considerably more detail.

The main proposals include:

• A 2,184 sq m supermarket, with 1,363 sq m of sales space.

• 126 parking spaces, including six accessible spaces, nine parent and child spaces and two rapid electric vehicle charging spaces.

• Covered parking for 12 bicycles close to the store entrance.

• A new access junction from the A51 Stafford Road.

• Proposed opening hours of 7am to 11pm from Monday to Saturday and 10am to 4pm on Sundays and bank holidays.

• Around 40 jobs at the store.

The building would sit towards the A34 side of the site, with most of the car park between the supermarket and the A51. The delivery area would be at the southern end of the building.

The scheme has changed since Lidl’s original consultation earlier this year.

The consultation material showed 1,529 sq m of sales space and 130 parking spaces. The full application planning statement and latest site plan now show 1,363 sq m of sales space and 126 spaces.

One of the transport documents submitted with the application still refers to the earlier 1,529 sq m sales figure.

How vehicles would get in and out

Access and traffic were among the main concerns raised when Lidl consulted residents earlier this year.

The full application proposes a new junction on the A51 around 175 metres east of Aston Roundabout.

It would include a dedicated lane for vehicles turning right into Lidl when approaching from the roundabout. The transport assessment says the turning lane would be 55 metres long, with part of the southern side of the A51 widened to accommodate the junction.

Vehicles would be able to turn both left and right when entering and leaving the site.

Plans also show a pedestrian refuge across the A51, together with new and widened footways and a shared pedestrian and cycle route connecting the store with the existing network towards Aston Roundabout.

Lidl’s transport consultants have assessed both the new store entrance and Aston Roundabout. They argue that both would continue to operate within what they describe as practical capacity after the store opens.

That is the applicant’s assessment rather than a decision by the council or highway authority, and will form part of the evidence considered as the planning application is determined.

The transport assessment anticipates one or two supermarket deliveries on a normal day, rising to as many as three during peak periods such as Christmas and Easter.

It also says Lidl would be willing to fund the possible extension of the existing 40mph speed limit further east along the A51 if Staffordshire County Council decided that change should be made.

Lidl has also offered a financial contribution towards improvements to the bus stop on the A34 near Aston by Stone Village Hall, including a shelter, accessible kerb and real time information display.

The site is not Green Belt

Another issue raised during Lidl’s own consultation was development on green land.

The application site is currently agricultural land and Lidl’s planning statement acknowledges that it sits outside Stone’s defined settlement boundary. In planning terms it is therefore within open countryside.

It is also an out of centre location for retail planning purposes, with Stone town centre around 1.85km away.

However, the land is not designated as Green Belt.

Because the supermarket would be outside the town centre, Lidl has submitted assessments looking at whether a suitable site closer to the centre could accommodate the development and at the potential effect on existing shops.

Lidl argues that there is no suitable and available alternative site within or on the edge of Stone town centre capable of accommodating the proposed store.

Its retail assessment also argues that the development would not cause a significant adverse impact on the vitality and viability of Stone town centre.

Those conclusions form part of Lidl’s case for the development and will need to be assessed by the council as part of its decision.

Earlier consultation was closely split

Lidl has also submitted the results of the public consultation it carried out before making the planning application.

A total of 6,393 leaflets were distributed and 480 responses were received through its online survey.

Of those responses, 227 people, or 47%, said they did not support a Lidl store in the proposed location. Another 216, or 45%, supported it, while 37, or 8%, were undecided.

The consultation report describes the response as mixed, with similar proportions supporting and opposing the development.

Among the issues raised by opponents were the proposed access, additional traffic on the A51 and A34, the effect on Aston Roundabout and development of a greenfield site.

Supporters cited greater supermarket choice, competition and the prospect of a Lidl store closer to home.

Despite the figures showing slightly more opposition than support, the conclusion of Lidl’s consultation report later states that the “majority of local residents support the proposed development”. That statement does not match the figures presented earlier in the same document.

Ecology and landscaping

The application is accompanied by a series of ecological, landscaping and biodiversity reports.

Lidl’s biodiversity assessment calculates that the development would reduce the number of habitat units available within the site itself. It says the statutory requirement for a 10% biodiversity net gain cannot be achieved entirely on the site, so additional habitat units would need to be secured elsewhere.

The assessment does, however, predict an increase in hedgerow biodiversity units through the proposed landscaping.

A consultation response relating to great crested newts recommends precautionary working measures. The site falls within an amber impact zone, indicating suitable habitat in the surrounding area, although the response assesses the likelihood of encountering great crested newts on the development site itself as low.

What happens now

Stafford Borough Council will consider the full application and the supporting reports, together with consultation responses and representations from residents and other interested parties.

The neighbour consultation expiry date currently shown for application 26/42640/FUL is Friday 16 October 2026.

Anyone who responded to Lidl’s earlier public consultation can also make their views known directly to Stafford Borough Council as part of the formal planning process.

The plans and supporting documents can be viewed through Stafford Borough Council’s Planning Public Access system by searching for application 26/42640/FUL.