North West Leicestershire District Council has again raised questions over the need to demolish an office block to make way for a Lidl supermarket in Ashby.

The council posed a series of questions to Lidl last year over their plans to knock down the existing Ashfield House building on Resolution Road.

A response came from Lidl's agents, Rapleys, which said that the loss of employment land is justifiable in this instance'.

But a document published last week on the council's planning portal says Lidle has not been able to provide any information on the employment capacity of the existing building. 

It claims the current building could support 340 jobs, as opposed to the 40 that are planned to be offered by the supermarket chain.

But it accepts that if there is no demand for office space in the area, then the supermarket jobs would be better than seeing the building stand empty.

The document says: "Without such analysis, the consideration of whether the proposal maximises employment is hindered. 

The Ashfield House site in Resolution Road. Photo: Instantstreetview.com

"The floor area is some 3,638sq metres. Taking the office floorspace to jobs ratio from the council's Need for Employment Land Study as a guide, this could equate to 340 jobs. 

"Unless and until the applicants provide further information, the indicative jobs capacity of the existing building as offices would exceed the 40 full-time employed of the proposed store. 

"The applicants have not demonstrated that job outputs are maximised in terms of number and/or quality of jobs. 

"The previous comments requested that the applicants demonstrate whether the loss of existing employment floorspace would be significant in terms of Ashby De La Zouch and the District. 

"The marketing details describe the premises as 'prestigious HQ offices' and of 'Grade A' quality. The photos show its 'high specification design and fit out'. 

"When they were put on the market, the premises were of a standard which an office occupier could use. They were not redundant or unsuitable at that point."

The document has taken some of Lidl's comments into account - but responded with points of their own.

It adds: "The applicants state that 'it was acknowledged to the market this may be suitable for alternative uses, subject to planning, noting finding an owner, occupier or an investor for ongoing office use might prove problematic given the layout of Ashfield House - difficult to subdivide without significant cost) and similarly it's a large office building for the Ashby market. 

'The feedback that was received from a number of investors was that it was just too big a lot size for the Ashby market for them to take the risk on.' 

"This is noted, however no corroborating information has been supplied to confirm whether there was any interest from office occupiers and, if so, why a purchase did not go ahead. 

How the new store will look if planning permission is granted for the Ashby site. Image: Lidl

"The applicants state that 'as this site has been vacant since at least January 2022, this demonstrates a lack of demand within this area for office accommodation.'

"This is not agreed. The fact the building has been vacant since January 2022 reflects the purchaser's (Lidl's) intentions for the site. It does not (of itself) show a lack of demand for the premises as offices. On the other hand, if the premises were on the market for an extended period before Lidl agreed to purchase and/or if there was no/few enquiries from office occupiers, that could be indicative of a lack of demand."

The council says it wants more information from Lidl about whether the site could still be used as offices.

It says: "The applicants should be invited to supply more, specific information such as: 

• Date the premises went on the market
• Number of enquiries received, over what period and for what uses 
• What were the reasons enquiries did not progress to purchase 
• What dates were Lidl's offer made and accepted?

"The applicant states in the conclusion 'the site has been actively marketed with a lack of demand for offices in this location'. What has been submitted does not substantiate this conclusion. 

"The applicants have not demonstrated a lack of demand or interest for Grade A offices in Ashby or the district. Without this information, the loss of office space would weigh against the proposal and would need to be considered in the planning balance against the benefits of the scheme."

However, the report says that if the lack of demand for office space is proved to be accurate, then the jobs provided by the supermarket would be of benefit to the area.

The report says: "To some degree, demonstration of the demand (or otherwise) for offices could help to address the issue. 

"If there is no reasonable prospect of an office occupier, the supermarket proposals would help 'maximise job outputs' compared with the alternative of an unused building."