New Lidl in Burgess Hill to replace '˜blight on everybody's lives'

The existing store in the town centre is due to be demolished to make way for the £70m redevelopment of the Martlets Shopping Centre.

New River Retail’s planning application to build a new Lidl store on the redundant gas holder site off Leylands Road was approved by Mid Sussex District Council’s district planning committee last Thursday (June 16).

While 68 letters of objection were received from residents raising concerns with traffic and the impact on the town centre, district councillors felt the economic benefits, including those provided by the town centre regeneration, outweighed any negatives.

Pru Moore (Con, Burgess Hill - Leylands) said: “It’s a monstrosity and it’s a blight on everybody’s lives.”

She thought the new Lidl store would be a ‘great benefit’ to the majority of the town’s residents.

Diane Heckels, a Burgess Hill town councillor and a resident of Dumbrills Close, described the scheme as an ‘exciting and positive investment for the east side of Burgess Hill’.

John Wilkinson (Con, Hurstpierpoint and Downs) added: “There are so many positives about the application, the only potential negative is that relating to traffic.”

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