Last week East Devon District Council approved planning permission for Lidl, the UK’s fastest growing supermarket, to build their new regional distribution centre, a move which will see the supermarket create around 500 jobs for the area.
East Devon’s Development Management Committee unanimously approved the Lidl Logistics Centre application on Tuesday (5 July 2016), subject to addressing some conditions around construction and operational noise concerns.
Councillor Paul Diviani, Leader of East Devon District Council, warmly welcomed the news saying:
“Planning approval for Lidl’s new regional distribution centre is an enormous boost for growth and confidence for East Devon and indeed greater Exeter greater Devon. It’s a real red letter day for job creation for the area and to top it all Lidl are looking to be on site this summer.
Lidl coming here underlines the incredible credentials of the area for strategic employment growth, plus with the centre connecting up to low carbon energy centre which also serves neighbouring Skypark and Cranbook, in sustainability terms too!”
Adrienne Howells, Lidl UK Head of Warehouse Expansion added:
“We are delighted to have received planning permission for our new regional distribution centre in East Devon. This will ultimately help to alleviate pressure on our other warehouses currently servicing the region. We are of course thrilled that this will lead to considerable investment and job creation in the area, and we’re very much looking forward to getting started on construction.”
Ready to Go!
Having already carried out extensive site preparation works, Sainsbury’s, the previous owner, put its plans for a depot on hold in 2013. It was announced earlier this year that Lidl had acquired the site, known as the Exeter Gateway, which already has planning permission for a distribution warehouse of 50,000 m².
The Exeter Gateway site benefits from major improvements to Junction 29 of the M5 and the construction of the Clyst Honiton bypass.
The Clyst Honiton bypass provides access to and from the site without using local roads. As well as providing easy access to Exeter Airport, these road improvements have opened up a corridor linking Science Park, Skypark and Cranbrook as a prime opportunity for economic growth.