Lidl's second Brooks Road application is with the National Park, and comments close 26 October. Noise officers have already objected over deliveries.
Lidl has formally applied again to build a supermarket on Brooks Road, Lewes. The public can comment until Monday 26 October.
The application, SDNP/26/03583/FUL, was received by the South Downs National Park Authority on 15 September and validated on 24 September. It replaces the scheme the Authority refused in December 2025, which we covered in August when Lidl put its redrawn plans out for feedback.
The first official responses are already on the file. The Authority’s design officer calls the new scheme a substantial improvement. Environmental Protection officers have objected.
What Lidl is asking for
The planning, retail and economic statement submitted with the application sets out the scheme:
| Gross floorspace | 2,267 sq m |
| Sales area | 1,492 sq m |
| Car parking | 106 spaces: 89 standard, 6 blue badge, 9 parent and child, 2 EV charging |
| Cycle parking | 12 spaces, on six Sheffield stands |
| Jobs | up to 40, starting at £13.45 an hour |
The store has been moved to the western part of the site, with stepped elevations and a sawtooth roof. Lidl says the roof draws on the area’s industrial and wharf buildings. The walls would mix brick, flint and timber.
The buildings that would come down are listed in the same statement:
- The Doctor Clinic, in a former car dealership fronting Brooks Road
- the vacant Caffyns car dealership facing Malling Street
- a vacant former dealership area on the Davey’s Lane side
- Causeway House, an office building on Malling Street
Who Lidl expects to take trade from
Lidl’s retail assessment forecasts a turnover of about £14m in 2029. It estimates where that money would come from:
- about 60% from Aldi
- almost 26% from Tesco
- almost 9% from Waitrose
The statement notes that consultants reviewing the first application for the Authority thought Lidl’s earlier 75% figure for Aldi was too high, and assumed closer to 55%.
What the officers have said so far
Design: broadly supportive. The design officer’s response says the scheme “represents a substantial improvement over the previously refused development”. Two points remain. The officer wants planting to screen the loading bay, and a more continuous green walking route through the car park. Both are described as “relatively minor amendments”.
Noise: an objection. The Environmental Protection response recommends objection for insufficient information. Noise was one of the three reasons the first scheme was refused. The officer says “no Noise Impact Assessment (NIA) has been provided”.
That is hard to square with the file. The documents list includes an Environmental Noise Report by Sharps Redmore, dated 27 August 2026 and posted on 14 September. It assesses plant, the service yard and the car park. We cannot tell from the register whether the officer saw it.
The two documents disagree sharply on delivery hours:
| Deliveries | Construction | |
|---|---|---|
| Lidl’s noise report | could be received 7am to 11pm without adverse impact | not covered |
| Environmental Protection’s proposed limit | 7am to 9pm Monday to Saturday; 9am to 5pm Sundays and bank holidays | 8am to 6pm weekdays, 8am to 1pm Saturdays, none on Sundays |
Lidl’s statement argues that flexible delivery hours are essential, because its lorries share the car park with customers. The noise report says the store would typically trade from 8am to 10pm. Environmental Protection also wants live vibration monitoring on the boundary of the Grade II listed Old Brewery during demolition.
Flooding and groundwater: no objection, with conditions. The Environment Agency wants the shop floor at least 4.50 metres above sea level. The site sits in a Source Protection Zone 1, above a principal aquifer. Its past use as a motor engineering works is a medium contamination risk, the Agency says. It does not think drainage that soaks water into the ground is appropriate here without its consent. That may matter for the rainwater gardens Lidl is promoting, depending on how they are built.
The price of a departure from policy
The site is partly protected employment land. In its pre-application advice of 17 July, the Authority said a supermarket here would conflict with its employment policies. It said a departure could be justified if Lidl provided:
- a relocation strategy for the businesses on the site
- at least £50,000 for economic development and town centre initiatives
- a two-hour parking limit for customers, to support the town centre
Lidl’s statement says it remains agreeable to the £50,000 contribution. We could not find the two-hour parking limit mentioned in it.
What Lidl’s consultation found
Lidl’s Statement of Community Involvement says leaflets went to 9,317 addresses. It reports 858 submissions by the time it applied, with more still arriving.
Lidl gives the split as 509 yes (60.5%), 304 no and 35 unsure. Those figures do not quite add up. The three answers total 848, not 858, and 509 of 858 would be 59.3%. Either way, a clear majority of those who answered backed the store.
The objections Lidl recorded were about traffic, whether Lewes needs another supermarket, design, pedestrian safety and deliveries. Some respondents suggested Ringmer as a better site.
On the planning register itself, eight public comments had been posted by 3 October: five objections and three in support. The Authority consulted 70 neighbours directly.
What happens next
- 26 October: statutory consultation period ends
- 24 December: the Authority’s deadline to decide
The register currently lists the expected decision level as a delegated decision by officers. The first application went to the Authority’s planning committee. The listed level is only an expectation and can change.
What it means for you
If you have a view, write to the National Park, not to Lidl. Comments go through the application page on the South Downs planning register. Lewes sits inside the National Park, so the Authority decides, not Lewes District Council.
Comments carry most weight when they deal with planning matters. On this scheme those are design and heritage, noise and delivery hours, traffic and the loss of employment space. Whether you shop at Aldi or Tesco is not one of them.
If you run one of the businesses on the site, the relocation strategy matters most. It is not yet on the file.
We follow applications across the district on our Lewes planning news page.
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