Hereford shops could close if Lidl opens at Three Counties Hotel

Lidl has applied to Herefordshire Council for planning permission to bulldoze the Three Counties Hotel in Belmont Road and replace it with a new supermarket.

But assessing the impact this could have on other shops, Herefordshire Council's consultants said the effect of a second Lidl in association with the recently opened The Food Warehouse on the other side of the city in Holmer Road was "likely to erode the role of convenience trading in the city centre".

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The experts, JW Planning, said that this would ultimately "risk further city centre food store closures", with Iceland recently shutting its shop in Eign Gate – but it was noted that this could have been tied into the chain opening its new The Food Warehouse.

With planners yet to make a decision on plans for the hotel, which is still open, it appears Lidl and Herefordshire Council are locked in a debate over the impact on other businesses.

JW Planning, for Herefordshire Council, said city centre convenience shops could see trade hit by more than 10 per cent if Lidl opens, calling it a "concern" – with that number taking into account the closure of Iceland.

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It said that despite the historic city centre's attractiveness, there are underlying vulnerabilities. These are shown, for example, by vacancies and loss of footfall and vitality in parts such as Commercial Street.

The closure of Debenhams had "obviously" been a major loss for the Old Market Shopping Centre, JW Planning added.

But the biggest impact of the new Lidl would be on the chain itself, experts estimated, with the Brook Retail Park shop, near Hereford County Hospital, hit by a 22.3 per cent drop in trade.

Aldi in Eign Gate would also be hit by a 15.1 per cent drop, and Belmont Tesco, in Abbotsmead Road and half a mile from the Three Counties Hotel site, by 11.9 per cent.

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CarneySweeney, for Lidl, previously said that shops' limited product lines focus on key products that typically make up "bulk" food shopping trips, and they were mainly own-brand.

That means shops do not sell certain "ancillary" lines normally found in the "mainstream" supermarkets such as tobacco.

It said that Lidl does not provide staffed butchery, fishmonger, delicatessen/cheese and hot food counters, and there are no cafés, post offices, pharmacies, dry cleaning or photography services.

"These factors are important when considering the trading effects of a Lidl food store as clearly in Lidl's case the potential for cross-over with the offer of independent high street retailers is less than it is for mainstream food retailers that stock a far wider range of goods," it said.

It estimated that the biggest impacts on other shops would be Asda in Belmont Road, Belmont Tesco and Aldi in Eign Street – all between 10 and 11 per cent.