Plans to build a new Lidl store in Cardigan have been recommended for approval by Ceredigion County Council planning officers.

Lidl is hoping to build a new store at the site of the B&M Store on Aberystwyth Road.

A supporting statement accompanying a consultation which ran last year until 28 January said that Lidl aims to employ up to 40 staff at the new store.

The scheme would include a 1,976 sqm store, with 100 car parking spaces, including seven parent and child, six accessible parking bays and two Electric Vehicle charging bays.

Planning documents said: “Staffing levels have yet to be finalised, however, based on existing Lidl’s elsewhere, the proposed store is likely to provide up to 40 full-time and part-time jobs.

“Lidl always seek to source labour locally and provide management opportunities for staff, the company’s philosophy being to provide all its employees with opportunities for developing and progressing their careers with the company, with the longstanding corporate strategy being to promote from within the business.”

The new store would “deliver substantial economic and social value”, Lidl said, and would “create local employment and strengthen supply chains, and also contribute meaningfully to public revenues, community wellbeing, and sustainable development.”

“The development will deliver a modern, energy-efficient foodstore, incorporating sustainability measures such as photovoltaic panels”, documents said.

“The proposed development represents a sustainable, policy-compliant scheme that will regenerate a brownfield site, improve the retail offer in Cardigan, and deliver economic and environmental benefits without causing harm to town centre vitality.”

During a pre-planning consultation period, two responses were received backing the scheme, documents said, while one objection was received from a near neighbour concerned about the new store’s impact on nearby houses.

Under the proposals, the new Lidl store would be set further back than the current B&M store.

The plans have been backed by Cardigan Town Council but received seven objections over its “adverse impact” on nearby housing and that it would result in “significant overlooking” and visual intrusion.

Most objected due to the “proximity and size of the proposed development” as well as traffic and noise fears.

A planning officer’s report said “the appearance, scale and layout of the building would be acceptable” and said that “the scheme has been amended significantly by the applicant and agent, in discussion with the local planning authority, to minimise the impact of the development on the amenity of the neighbouring occupants.”

Planners also said that “there would not be significant levels of noise generation during the demolition and construction phases of the development or during the subsequent operation of the foodstore, which includes deliveries.”

The scheme was submitted to Ceredigion County Council in March, and is recommended for approval by planners at the Development Management Committee meeting on 11 November.

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As part of the scheme there would be new access arrangements off Aberystwyth Road with the existing access reconfigured to accommodate two lanes and a traffic island, and a new car parking area accommodating 100 car parking spaces.