Budget supermarket giants Lidl have submitted a new application for a Northfield store to Birmingham City Council after original plans were refused five months ago.
The original plan received considerable support from the community and was recommended for approval by city planning officers. However, the council’s Planning Committee members declined the application back in April this year when concerns were expressed on a number of issues, including sustainability and landscaping.
In a statement submitted to council with the new application, planners write: “The decision notice outlined four reasons for refusal. The stated reasons relate to matters of design, landscaping, visual amenity, and the treatment of the public realm and footway between Bristol Road South and Victoria Common, located to the rear of the proposed foodstore.
“The updated scheme directly responds to the reasons for refusal and aims to address the concerns raised by the Planning Committee.”
In response to the concerns, developers have proposed a number of changes in the new plans:
- Rotating the store 90º and repositioning the entrance;
- Provision of two glazed elevations along both Bristol Road South / A38 and the customer car park;
- Inclusion of red facing brick verticals on the street-facing elevation, drawing on local character;
-
Elevation drawing showing the proposed position of the public realm walkway to Victoria Common | Click to enlarge Creation of a new public realm between the foodstore building and the retained part of Northfield Shopping Centre, ensuring a safe, legible and attractive pedestrian route through to Victoria Common. This will include arches at the entrances, public art – including an area for art work from Bellfield Primary School – and soft landscaping;
- Landscaping scheme, including low-level ornamental shrub planting, and new tree planting both within the car park and along the boundary of the site.
Whether the enhancements to the application can sway members of the planning committee remains to be seen, with the original plans being refused by 5 votes to 3.
In particular, Cllr Martin Brookes expressed concern that there were already four supermarkets within a ten minute walk of the site, citing the apparent low use of the new Aldi in Stirchley as an example of where planning can go wrong.
He also felt the 40 jobs the proposal would create was not enough for such a large plot and said he believed a mixed use plan would be more beneficial.
Have Your Say
To view the new application in full, visit the Birmingham City Council Planning Portal and search for Planning Application Number 2025/04646/PA.
Any comments must be submitted before 19th November 2025.
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