Supermarket Giant Lidl To Open in Acton

Supermarket Giant Lidl Could Open in Acton

First 'named' store for Oaks redevelopment revealed on council application

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German food giant, Lidl, looks set to be a flagship store in the redeveloped Oaks Shopping Centre.

Supermarket Giant Lidl for Oaks

The global discount supermarket, already has branches in Hanwell and West Ealing and had been considering Chiswick as a possible new home, but on 19 January the company applied to Ealing Council for a trading licence to take over Unit 4a of The Oaks in Acton.

Planning permission was granted for the Oaks redevelopment over three years ago and one of the major features to try and 'sell' the new scheme to many opponents was the prospect of Waitrose opening in the centre. However, in May last year there was huge disappointment when they announced they were pulling out.

The first Lidl opened in Germany in 1973 and there are now 9,000 stores in over 26 European countries. In 1994 the first branch opened in the UK - there are now over 600 stores here.

Speculation had been rife as to which store would take over when Waitrose pulled out and Lidl is thought to be the first big name to apply to trade in the new shopping centre.

Trading hours are listed from 7am - 11pm Monday to Sunday and the store wants to sell alcohol at the same times too. Comments and representations can be made regarding the application until 16 February 2017.

We have asked Lidl for further details, and are awaiting information from the Acton Regeneration Company - the organisation behind the Oaks redevelopment. Some of the directors of the Acton Regeneration Company also sit on the board of premiership football club Tottenham Hotspur including chairman Daniel Levy. We asked the Acton Regeneration Company to confirm that Lidl would be the anchor tenant in the new development and whether that indicated a switch towards discount retailing. When no answer was forthcoming we addressed the same questions to the press office at Tottenham Hotspur and await a response.

A website regarding the Oaks scheme is out of date and we have requested further details from Ealing Council.

31 January 2017