A COUNCILLOR has warned that the Lidl store in Wellington could be bulldozed unless the supermarket firm plants new hedges to improve the outside appearance of the site.

Members of Wellington Town Council’s environment committee were highly critical of Lidl during their meeting on March 18 where they spoke of their disappointment at the company’s failure to adhere to conditions imposed when given planning permission in April 2022 to build the store beside the Cades roundabout.

Around 100 feet of mature hedgerow was removed when the Lidl store and car park was being built and the company was told that the planting had to be replaced along Taunton Road and Nynehead Road.

But four years on and the hedgerow that was taken out has still yet to be replaced and local councillors believe Somerset Council – the planning authority – needs to take enforcement action.

Cllr Mike McGuffie, who submitted a report to the town council’s environment committee about the hedging, said: “The way forward on this is to make a complaint to Somerset Council and ask about planning enforcement.”

The town council’s chief executive Dave Farrow said: “The replanting of the hedgerow was part of the planning approval which was given to Lidl and that is how we should challenge this.”

Councillors did warn that Somerset Council has freely admitted that it has a lack of planning enforcement officers – so getting the authority to do anything might be difficult.

But Cllr Mark Lithgow said: “A lack of planning enforcement officers is an issue, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do anything about this. We could also appeal to Lidl – it wouldn’t hurt us to ask them.”

The most damning verdict on the issue came from Cllr John Thorne who said that Lidl had deliberately avoided putting in replacement planting so that everyone could see the store – whereas a 6ft hedge around the site would have acted as screening.

He said: “Lidl want everyone to see the store and make it stick out like a sore thumb,”

“We need to make the planning enforcement complaint as Lidl won’t do anything until they are forced to do so.

“Lidl just cares about making money from Wellington people – they don’t care about Wellington itself.

“The planning conditions include the replanting of the hedgerow, but they’ve never done it and they will never do unless they’re made to do it.”

Cllr Thorne hinted that if enforcement action went the full distance it could result in the Lidl store being taken down and the whole site returned to what it was like before building started.

He continued: “They have not done what the planning permission says and they could be forced to return the site back to what it was originally,”

“There should be a 6ft high hedge around the site, but there’s no hedge at all. It’s an eyesore and been allowed to fester for a number of years.”

Councillors unanimously voted in favour of writing to Somerset Council’s planning enforcement department about the situation.