Lidl has formally submitted a full planning application to build a new supermarket on the site of the former Dobbies Garden Centre in Timperley, six months after the plans cleared a key planning hurdle.
The application, lodged with Trafford Council by planning consultants Rapleys on behalf of Lidl Great Britain, seeks permission to demolish the existing garden centre building and erect a new single-storey discount foodstore with a car park and landscaping.
The proposed store on Green Lane would have a gross internal floor area of 2,184 sq m and a net sales area of 1,529 sq m – marginally smaller than the building it would replace. Lidl says it would create around 40 jobs and include an in-store bakery.
Plans show 114 car parking spaces, made up of nine parent-and-child bays, six accessible spaces, two electric vehicle charging bays and five staff spaces, plus 12 cycle parking spaces.
In a change from the current arrangement, vehicle access would move away from Green Lane to a new entrance off Thorley Lane, with the existing Green Lane access removed. Congestion on Green Lane – particularly around Altrincham College – was a recurring theme in residents' objections at the earlier stage of the process.
The store would open from 7am to 11pm Monday to Saturday, and 10am to 6pm on Sundays and bank holidays.
In its planning statement, Rapleys argues the scheme is acceptable because the land is previously developed and the new building – at 2,267 sq m externally – would be slightly smaller than the existing 2,299 sq m structure, meaning it would not cause "substantial harm to the openness of the Green Belt".
The firm also says that because the council confirmed the site's lawful retail use in January, it says Lidl could in principle trade from the existing building as a foodstore without needing further planning permission.
Ward councillor Michael Taylor (Conservative, Hale Barns and Timperley South) has submitted a detailed representation to the council, broadly welcoming the landscaping but setting out a long list of requests and questions.
Cllr Taylor called for "more trees, shrubs, flowering plants and perennial planting throughout the site", the use of native species such as hawthorn and blackthorn, and substantial planting along the Green Lane boundary to soften views of the store and electricity substation. He suggested Lidl consider a living wall and asked whether the store would have solar panels and a green living roof.
He went further on community benefits, suggesting Lidl contribute towards resurfacing or improvements to Green Lane, speed-calming measures, warning signage at the new entrance and exit, and improvements to Halecroft Park.
The former garden centre closed in December 2024 as part of a national restructuring by Dobbies that saw 17 sites shut. The application is now open for public comment before council planners make a recommendation.
