Lidl's plans to open a new supermarket on the site of the former Dobbies Garden Centre in Timperley have moved a step closer after Trafford Council granted a key certificate confirming the site's retail use.
The council signed off the Certificate of Lawful Development yesterday, confirming that the Green Lane site has established retail rights under Use Class E - clearing the way for the budget supermarket chain to move in without needing a fresh planning application for change of use.
The decision comes despite objections from local residents, who have raised concerns about traffic congestion, the impact on Green Lane's "semi-rural" character, and whether another Lidl is needed given existing stores in Altrincham and Baguley.
Residents of Green Lane told the council the road is already heavily congested during school drop-off and pick-up times at nearby Altrincham College of Arts, describing illegal parking, blocked driveways and cars mounting pavements. One objector said they now take a longer route via Thorley Lane to avoid the daily chaos.
"Green Lane is a quiet area with a semi-rural feel, with a current farm and a number of properties fitting the rural description including thatched roofs," wrote one resident. "A Lidl supermarket is not in keeping with the location at all."
Objectors also questioned the need for another store, pointing to the Lidl at Altrincham Retail Park in Broadheath and another in Baguley, as well as numerous other supermarkets in the area.
Altrincham & Bowdon Civic Society also submitted a representation, noting they had understood a Lidl was to be delivered at the Altair development in Altrincham town centre.
However, the objections were not relevant to the council's decision. A Certificate of Lawful Development is a legal confirmation of existing planning rights, not an assessment of whether a new use is desirable. Officers could only consider whether the site had been in continuous retail use for at least 10 years.
The council's research confirmed the site has operated as a garden centre since 1968, with Wyevale paying business rates from 1996 to 2019 and Dobbies from 2019 until March this year. A planning officer who visited the site in July found the premises cleared of stock, though the children's soft play area, café servery and payment kiosks remained in place.
Dobbies closed the Timperley site on 17th December 2024 as part of a major restructuring that saw 17 locations shut nationwide.
Lidl, which instructed planning consultants Rapleys to submit the application in May, has not yet confirmed its plans for the site.
The company has stepped up its growth plans in recent months and it enjoyed a 10% surge in sales to more than £1.1bn in the four weeks leading up to Christmas Eve.
Objectors have six months to appeal the decision to the Secretary of State.
