A PLANNING application by German chain Lidl to build a supermarket on the outskirts of Wellington is on hold.

The application was made to Somerset West and Taunton Council in early October and in normal circumstances would have been dealt with by now.

But since August last year developers have to show the proposed development was phosphate-neutral or identify ‘the mitigation measures’ which would achieve this.

Wellington Town Council’s planning committee has twice objected to the scheme, the latest being in January when it voted four-three against the proposed supermarket, with the Mayor of Wellington, Cllr Janet Lloyd, using her casting vote – with four councillors abstaining.

Councillors have said they have nothing against Lidl coming to Wellington but have concerns about its proposed location, a field off the Cades Farm roundabout.

Lidl bosses say a store on the outskirts of Wellington would create 40 full-time jobs and have considerable benefits for the town.

Matthias Daly, Lidl’s GB regional head of property, has said: “Our retail assessment shows that we will claim back a significant amount of trade that Wellington loses to Taunton.

“We do acknowledge that Waitrose and Asda will be impacted by our proposal, however, not significantly, and they are forecasted to remain to trade their company average.

“Lidl’s offering is different to theirs and the vast majority of our trade will come from trade we claim back from Taunton.”

Although Wellington Town Council has objected to the scheme, the final decision rests with Somerset West and Taunton Council.

Among others objecting to the proposed supermarket are residents living near the site but much support for the scheme exists locally.

n Hundreds of local planning applications have been on hold because of advice from Natural England in August last year that no new development should be approved which might add to the amount of phosphates found on the Somerset Levels.

The Levels is a protected landscape and internationally recognised for its wildlife, and much of Taunton Deane and West Somerset lies within its catchment area.

Natural England therefore told the district council any proposals which might give rise to additional phosphates would need a Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA) carried out before it could be considered.

THE HRA would need to show the proposed development was phosphate-neutral or identify the mitigation measures which would achieve this.

Since last summer, planning applications which would see more than 11,000 new homes built across Somerset have been put on hold because of the new requirement.

Last week, Somerset County Council working with the district council, published an approval ‘phosphate budget calculator’ to help developers calculate their phosphate loading to help planners decide on their applications.

The leaders of all four Somerset district councils have also written jointly to the Government to warn of the negative impact of the new measure on house building in Somerset and the ability of the authorities to meet national housing targets.

They also asked the Government to help find a national solution to the issue, which was also affecting many other areas of the county.