Lidl wants to open a store in Holbeach – as council chairman calls for talks

Another major supermarket chain has confirmed that it is eyeing up Holbeach for a new store.

Lidl says it would be interested in bringing a store to the town and is appealing to people with land to get in touch with its property team.

The budget supermarket chain would be hot on the heels of rival Aldi, which was granted planning permission in March this year to build a new store on the former council depot in Fleet Road.

The news has been welcomed by Holbeach Parish Council chairman Clive Turner, who would like to see the store built close to the town centre.

He said: “I think it is good for the town but location is important for the community as we want to increase footfall to the town centre.

“I moved here 23 years ago and saw the town before Tesco.

“One of the reasons I moved here was because it was a lovely high street with individual shops. Tesco came in and slowly we have seen the decline of the high street.

“Personally, I would like to see the high street continue to be rejuvenated and having a Lidl as well as an Aldi could help to bring more people in. I think the town centre will end up with more boutique type shops as a result.”

He also feels that the increase of working from home after Covid has encouraged more people to move to Holbeach from the south.

Coun Turner said: “I definitely think Holbeach is being put on the map. But we have to to offer more services as well as supermarkets.

“I would encourage Lidl to get in contact with the parish council to start that dialogue.”

Lidl has issued a brochure of towns in which it would be interested in buying land in – and Holbeach is on that list. Spalding is also listed within the brochure, but the retailer already has two stores in the town.

The Lincolnshire Free Press understands that the supermarket has not bought land around the Holbech Food Enterprise Zone - with an alternative business destined for this location.

A Lidl spokesman said: “We are interested in bringing a Lidl store to Holbeach and our dedicated property team are open to hearing about any sites that might be suitable.

“All of the details about our site requirements, including how to get in touch and our finders’ fee - can be found in the property section of our website at www.lidl.co.uk.”

Aldi is due to start work on its site soon - but a start date has not yet been revealed.

What do you think? Would you like to see a Lidl store come to Holbeach? Where would the ideal location be if so?

Email your views to victoria.fear@iliffepublishing.co.uk or post your thoughts below