DBC Press Release sent to Dartford Living: Dartford Leader says Lidl would be a welcome addition to the town Having Aldi and Lidl would deliver two of Britains fastest-growing retailers says Kite Dartford Council Leader Jeremy Kite has given his clearest indication yet that he wants to see popular supermarket chain Lidl set up a store in the town. Answering questions posed by my more than a hundred members of the town’s Elders Forum at The Orchard Theatre this morning (Monday), Councillor Kite said that he had met twice with senior Lidl bosses in recent weeks and that the Council was working alongside the firm to resolve planning issues. Councillor Kite said, “Lidl want to be in Dartford and we have been working desperately hard to bring them here. There were some flaws in their last application which left Members of the cross-party Development Control Board little choice but to reject it but we’ve been working with Lidl bosses to suggest ways to improve their scheme and they’ve been very amenable to that. They have been flexible and so have we. My last meeting with them was only a week or so ago and I think a new planning application is not too far away.” “Stores like Aldi and Lidl are offering something new to towns and are really popular with local shoppers. Naturally, we have a duty to protect local residents from the effects of living close to a busy store but the Council is more than prepared to put in resources to do that. For their part Lidl have made substantial design changes and are exploring ways to link with our town centre revival.” “The clear message is that our proud market town is not going to be messed about by Tesco anymore. With Aldi coming and Lidl knocking on the door Dartford’s retail revival is underway. We have always had a strong vision for a traditional High Street just like we did for our Edwardian Central Park but the retail recession hit high streets all over the country and stopped everyone in their tracks. With the economy improving it’s time for the Dartford High Street revival. Jeremy also told the Elders’ Forum that other big name chains were likely to be heading to the Dartford High Street. He said, “I understand that an announcement is imminent on another new chain coming to the High Street and we are seeing more enquiries about independent shops and demand for new market stalls.”
Posted on: Tue, 28 Oct 2014 09:55:32 +0000
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