Lidl have applied to build a new supermarket on the site of The Orchard hotel and restaurant. This application follows their public exhibition in November last year and, according to their application dated December 2024, they had previously sought advice from Hillingdon in July 2024.
We have arranged a meeting with Lidl and their specialists, which you can attend, so that we can put questions to them. We would like to put your questions to them. Please do two things: register to attend the meeting, and send us your questions.
We need your questions by the afternoon of Thursday 13th March so that we can compile all of the questions together, and send them to Lidl so that they can prepare their answers. Our meeting is at 19:00 on Monday 17th March. Please join us.
How can you help? What should you ask?
You could consider starting from what London Borough of Hillingdon’s Planning advice was to Lidl back in July: the notes they gave are on Lidl’s planning application, on page 21.
To make them easier to read, those notes are duplicated below (with bold text added to emphasise the themes and topics that you may wish to consider).
Pre-application Advice FROM HILLINGDON TO LIDL
From pre-application dated 24 July 2024
The principle of the development raises concerns, particularly by reason that the loss of the Orchard Public House is resisted and there is no robust or sufficient marketing evidence to justify its loss at this stage.
In addition, the acceptability an out-of-town-centre retail use would be subject to an independent review at the application stage. In terms of design and conservation, the proposed development would not have proper regard to layout, form and character of the site.
The proposed impact on the setting of the locally listed war memorial and open verdant character of this part of the Conservation Area is not accepted, considering also that the proposed building would fail to be seen as a positive contribution to the character of the Conservation Area.
Moreover, the loss of the Orchard Pub building would not be justified, as there is no public benefit that would outweigh the harm to the Conservation Area. Any development proposal should be seen as an opportunity to enhance the public realm and open green character of the Conservation Area.
Whilst the development would have an acceptable impact on the residential amenity of neighbouring residents, subject to conditions, the development is not accepted under design and heritage terms and would fail to respect the visual appearance of this part of the conservation area.
With regards to parking, the proposed 71 car parking spaces should be justified, depending on trip generation. A Travel Plan and Transport Assessment would be required for further review.
Furthermore, concerns with regards to the building layout and conflict between pedestrians, cyclists and servicing vehicles should be addressed.
Other issues with regards to environmental standards, safety/security, sustainability and highway safety are not significant at this stage. A more comprehensive assessment to cover these planning consideration should be required at application stage following formal consultation with internal and external specialists.
However, the proposed landscape strategy is not accepted, as the proposed loss of trees and substantial reduction in soft landscaping would not respond to the character of the surrounding area and would have a harmful impact on the ecological value and biodiversity of the site, as well as the character and visual amenity of the conservation area.
The proposal overall, is not supported.
Lidl’s full planning application is live on the LB Hillingdon planning website now – see application 62963/APP/2024/3371. The LBH website can be difficult to read from mobile phones, so we have copied links to the various documents making up the application, below:
- 01 – Site Location Plan
- 02 – Existing Site Plan
- 03 – Proposed Site Plan
- 04 – Landscape Proposals
- 05 – Proposed Site Levels Plan
- 06 – Existing Ground Floor Plans
- 07 – Existing First Floor Plans
- 08 – Existing Roof Plans
- 09 – Noise Impact Assessment
- 10 – Existing NE and SW Elevations
- 11 – Existing SE and NW Elevations
- 12 – Existing Sections
- 13 – Proposed Store Plan
- 14 – Proposed East Elevation
- 15 – Proposed West Elevation
- 16 – Proposed South Elevation
- 17 – Proposed North Elevation
- 18 – Proposed Roof Plan
- 19 – Proposed Sections
- Doc 01 – Design and Access Statement
- Doc 02 – Land Assessment – Contamination Site Investigation & Preliminary Risk Assessment
- Doc 03 – Land Assessment – Phase 2 Contamination Ground Investigation
- Doc 04 – Transport Assessment – Delivery and Service Management Plan
- Doc 05 – Transport Assessment – Transport Assessment
- Doc 06 – Transport Assessment – Travel Plan
- Doc 07 – Cultural & Heritage Assessment
- Doc 08 – Statement of Community Involvement
- Doc 09 – Air Quality Assessment
- Doc 10 – Planning Fire Safety Strategy
- Doc 11 – Proposed Lighting Layout & Luminaire Schedule
- Doc 12 – Arboricultural Report & Impact Assessment
- Doc 13 – Ecological Appraisal
- Doc 14 – Energy Usage & Sustainability Statement
- Doc 15 – Retail Impact Assessment
- Doc 16 – Flood and Drainage Assessment
- Doc 17 – Cultural and Heritage Assessment
Lidl Orchard application documents.zip
When you are ready, please send us your questions. If you would like to ask more than one question – please do! Just complete the form more than once.
Don’t forget to register so that you can join us on Monday.
You can be part of the public consultation too: send your comments to Hillingdon via their page for application 62963/APP/2024/3371. We will remind everyone to do this after the meeting, once we have heard from Lidl and had our questions answered.
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