Lidl Folkestone Plan Faces Mixed Reaction and Ownership Questions

Discount supermarket Lidl has unveiled proposals to relocate its Folkestone town-centre store (in Shellons Street – which has long been planned to become the new bus station) to a new site at East Station Goods Yard on Southern Way in Orange below. According to HM Land Registry documents, both parcels of the Southern Way site  are still registered to Oliver James Homes Limited (OJH Ltd), not Lidl. In other words, Lidl has not (yet) purchased the land, though the company has begun public consultations on its proposals. OJH Ltd paid £363,000 for the two parcels of land. 

Lidl’s draft plans, outlined in leaflets distributed to local residents, would see the Shellons Street store closed and a new, larger store built near Southern Way. The company says the new store would include “more than 100 parking spaces, cycle racks near the entrance, and a glazed frontage with an in-store bakery”. Opening hours would be 8am–10pm Monday–Saturday and 10am–4pm on Sundays. Access to the site would be from Southern Way, with deliveries limited to “two a day” and waste collections included in those trips. (A formal planning application has yet to be submitted to Folkestone & Hythe District Council, the company notes, but information leaflets have already been sent out as part of pre-application consultation.)

Local reaction has been mixed. Supporters point out the new store would serve an area that currently has limited local shopping and poor bus connections. “Why say no to a supermarket being built in an area that needs it,” wrote resident Niki Girdlestone on social media, adding that having a Lidl nearby “will be a godsend” for her family. Toni Jones similarly commented that the store would be “walking distance and easily accessible” for local residents who lack good bus service, helping them avoid a trip into town.

However, others – including KCC Reform UK councillor Mary Lawes – pictured (Folkestone East – ) – are strongly critical. Cllr. Lawes warned that the move would worsen traffic and parking problems in an area already plagued by congestion. In a social media post she wrote: “This will have huge implications to parking all around our streets. The gridlock will get worse with traffic trying to get to Lidl. Let’s stop it before it starts.” Lawes also noted that the land has long been earmarked for housing. “There was a planning application … to build some medium-sized family homes,” she said, adding “That is something we desperately need around here, not a supermarket that will constantly have deliveries.”

Lidl has emphasized that its proposals would include significant parking and delivery arrangements to mitigate impact. But councillors and some residents remain concerned about congestion, footfall and the loss of potential housing on the site. The company is meanwhile carrying on its community outreach: in addition to leaflets it has set up an online feedback form (via Microsoft Forms) to gather local views. At this stage Lidl says it is simply consulting the public; no planning application has been formally lodged. Folkestone & Hythe planners and local campaigners will now await the company’s next steps in the planning process.

The Shepway Vox Team

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