A campaign to halt the demolition of the Iceland on Hoxton Street has frozen over after the unexpected announcement that a Lidl supermarket will take over the new building.
At the Hackney planning sub-committee meeting on 6 November, local residents and councillor Steve Race argued that Iceland’s demolition “would cause significant harm to local residents”.
However, these fears were allayed when it was revealed that Lidl, another low-cost supermarket, has signed the lease, convincing Mr Race that the adopted proposal was “far better than it was originally”. Mr Race later stated he would turn his attention to “monitoring the developers to make sure they deliver what they promised.”
Before to the verdict, campaigner and long-term Hackney resident Pat Turnbull told The Hackney Post that the plan showcased a “greedy developer trying to make money at the expense of our community.”
Turnbull also stated that the application, which included plans for 25 flats, showed that social housing is being increasingly overlooked by private development in “one of the most deprived areas in the country.”
However, the meeting took an unexpected twist when planning committee representative Tim Walters announced that a “different prime retailer” had successfully outbid Iceland for the contract. Walters also boasted that Lidl has “agreed to donate £30,000 to local community projects and provide 30-40 new jobs at one of the best paid retail shops in the country.”
Responding to these pledges, Planning Committee chair Vincent Stops warned colleagues that these developments should not influence their votes, citing regulations which exclude private leases from council jurisdiction. The committee subsequently ratified the plans with an overwhelming majority.
The result was delivered just days before Lidl announced plans to expand nation-wide, as the company’s UK boss Christian Hartnagel revealed targets to open another 230 stores in the next three years.
