Lidl bid stokes Oswestry supermarket war
A Shropshire market town's "store war" rumbles on with three supermarkets planned for the same half mile stretch of road.
This week both Morrisons and Aldi have written to Shropshire Council to object to plans by discount store Lidl to open on the JT Hughes garage site in Victoria Road, Oswestry.
Morrisons has also objected to Aldi's proposals for a store a few hundred yards away.
In a letter to the council, Morrisons says it operates a medium-sized store in Oswestry town centre that generates custom for other shops and services.
It also owns the former Smithfield cattle market site in Shrewsbury Road, where permission exists for a large supermarket, cinema, restaurants and three non-food units.
That development was, the letter says, granted to claw back shoppers from Shrewsbury and Wrexham.
Chris Creighton, for Morrisons, said: "The Smithfield site will be well connected to the town centre with free car parking and a regular free bus service, in contrast to the JT Hughes site which will have no such links.
"We have undertaken our own assessment which indicates there is an over supply of food stores in the town and no need for the town to plan for any more developments," he added.
"The affect of additional food stores would be to divert trade from existing stores.
"Our assessment indicates that, with the Smithfield development the proposal will have a minus40 per cent impact on the town centre's convenience goods turnover."
Meanwhile those representing Aldi point out that the proposed Lidl development is set on a "problematic" junction.
A letter from Aldi says that there should be a further traffic survey before any decision is made.
