New Lidl and car park approved in Hampton despite traffic concerns

A new Lidl supermarket and car park have been approved in Peterborough.

The shop will be built off London Road in Hampton, alongside three new industrial units.

Developer Peveril Securities Limited was given the green light at a Peterborough City Council (PCC) planning meeting this week.

But concerns were raised over existing volumes of traffic in the area and the possibility that the new car park could become a “rat run” for vehicles trying to bypass it.

Cllr Chris Wiggin (Liberal Democrats, Hampton Vale) told the planning committee that Hampton Avenue, which connects the area’s shops to London Road, is already “over capacity at peak times”, while The Serpentine, which feeds into it, is also overwhelmed while roadworks take place.

“Any small change to the traffic flow in Hampton has catastrophic effects,” Cllr Wiggin said, adding that existing infrastructure “cannot safely and reasonably accommodate this application”.

Cllr Christian Hogg (Liberal Democrats, Fletton and Stanground) raised concerns that the Lidl car park could become a “rat run” as it’ll have two points of access – from Hampton Avenue and Ashbourne Road – meaning cars could cut through it to get to McDonalds, KFC and other businesses in the shopping area.

Developers said that Lidl will create a car park management plan that will include putting bollards up at the entrances overnight and that delivery trucks will have to access the shop via Ashbourne Road rather than Hampton Avenue, meaning the only extra traffic will be from cars.

PCC planning officers added their current conditions attached to the application mean that Lidl will have to submit this management plan for approval before the car park can be built and that the council can impose any number of restrictions to ensure it isn’t overrun.

Examples include limiting the number of car movements through it per day, installing speed bumps or setting up a one-way system through the car park, they said.

The application was approved with seven votes in favour, two against and one abstention.