Suffolk County Council's flood team has renewed its position regarding a proposed Lidl store for Halesworth over a continuing drainage disagreement.

While both sides have resolved some technical details after the first holding objection was lodged last year, three fundamental differences remain over the Norwich Road bid.

The proposed site at Hammonds Garage Norwich Road (Image: Google Maps)

The council has been urging the developers to add more "green" drainage features in the proposed shop's car park, such as raingardens or tree pits.

In a previous response to the council, the applicant said: "It is not possible to introduce a raingarden or sustainable drainage system tree pits in the bays due to the space required for the ducting to accommodate electric vehicle charging passive infrastructure."

The county council as lead local flood authority disputes this and said: "We would ask for further information on why this is a constraint that would rule out tree pits/raingardens but not large areas of crates as specified in the requested location.

View of the proposed site (Image: East Suffolk Council)

"There are several products on the market that are designed for use in areas where there are existing services."

Alongside a disagreement about what is technically possible regarding above-ground nature-based drainage, the applicant and the council also disagree on whether biodiversity planting and drainage features can share space, and how steep the drainage slopes should be.

The renewed holding objection comes after surveyors discovered an underground pipe was badly damaged after concerns from Suffolk County Council prompted an investigation.

Illustration of the new store (Image: East Suffolk Council)

Now the council has asked the applicant for the results of a further CCTV survey they have agreed to produce, and to respond to the three main points of disagreement.

The national chain announced last summer its hopes to build a new supermarket on Norwich Road, in Halesworth, creating 40 jobs.

The first British Lidl store opened its doors in 1994 and now has more than 1,000 stores and 14 regional distribution centres across Britain, employing more than 35,000 people.

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