Planning permission for a new Lidl foodstore in Dronfield has been granted following the signing of a legal agreement between the developer, the site owner, the district planning authority and the county council.

The store is proposed for the former Trent Titanium metalworks site at Wreakes Lane, Dronfield, and will bring approximately 35 new jobs to town.

The S106 agreement which the four parties have signed this month states that the developer has a conditional contract with the owner for the sale and purchase of the site with vacant possession.

North East Derbyshire District Council has passed developer Morbaine’s application to demolish existing buildings and build a foodstore with 100 car parking spaces. A reserved matters application, relating to appearance and landscaping of the site, must be approved before work can begin.

Image of how the proposed new Lidl store at Wreakes Lane, Dronfield, would look

placeholder image — Image of how the proposed new Lidl store at Wreakes Lane, Dronfield, would look

The proposed store would be 100m away from an existing Sainsbury’s outlet. Aldi operates a store on nearby Sheffield Road.

Dronfield Town Council reiterated its objection to the Lidl store plan last year, having originally opposed the application on the grounds that it would significantly increase the traffic on Wreakes Lane. The parish council stated that the proposed store would create nearly 220 additional vehicle trips on Wreakes Lane and surrounding junctions every hour. This would cause traffic problems around the junction with Stubley Hollow/Wreakes Lane and at the traffic lights at the junction at Wreakes Lane/Sheffield Road.

However, Dronfield Civic Society supported the application, saying: “The vacant brownfield site represents a sustainable location for a foodstore and is within walking distance of residential parts of the town. The application proposals will deliver economic, social and environmental benefits including the clearance of dereliction of former industrial units, a transformation of the site with good access and parking provision, local employment opportunities and a broadening of the market offer across the ‘value foodstore’ sector.”

Correspondence from Gary Rafferty, Senior Aquisitions Consultant at Lidl GB, stated that Dronfield had been a longstanding requirement by Lidl as their stores in Chesterfield and Sheffield could not meet Dronfield’s needs.

Morbaine plans to build the 1,895 sq m store on a site which has been redundant since 2020.