Lidl executives were stumped. Plans for a new supermarket in Horley, near Gatwick Airport, were in jeopardy after Tesco launched a formal judicial review of Lidl's proposals.
A few months earlier, Tesco had promised to bring a similar claim against Wiltshire Council's approval of a new Lidl store in Calne. The threat alone led to the revocation of planning permission.
Prior to this, at the end of 2022, Tesco challenged plans for its store in Crediton, Devon.
In each case, Tesco argued there were material planning problems, insisting it was not objecting because of loss of trade or an attempt to delay the opening. However, Lidl bosses have alleged foul play.
«We know this threat to the new Lidl store for Horley will be a huge blow to many,» Lidl's Adam Forsdick wrote to Surrey locals.
Tesco lobbying was ripping off people in Lidl's lower price area, he said. Some thought it was no coincidence that the proposed site was within 0.3 miles of a Tesco Express store.
Mr Forsdick said the supermarket giant's actions were «only in the interests of Tesco and not in the interests of the wider community».
The row with Horley is the latest in a series of clashes between Lidl and fellow German Aldi, on the one hand, and the British supermarket, on the other.
Ambitious expansion plans by German discounters have sparked legal and planning disputes across the country as Lidl and Aldi gain market power.
Under planning rules, companies or individuals can raise objections to the schemes based on what -or since they may lead to too much traffic, possible problems with drainage or materials to be used.
But insiders at German discounters believe the system is being abused by rivals who are launching bad-faith lawsuits simply designed to slow them down.
Even if the project gets the green light from the board, it could still be challenged in court.
“Obviously, the ultimate win for any store is to prevent a competitor from opening,” says one former Aldi executive who now works for a competitor.
< p>«This is clearly the path supermarkets are aiming for and even if it is not successful, in many cases an objection or judicial review could delay the process.»According to data compiled by Barbour ABI for The Telegraph, the new Aldi stores are on average less than a mile from other supermarkets. Lidl's openings are just over half a mile from competitors. Both are planning an opening, which will most often be closest to Tesco.
The supermarket can earn around £5 million in sales per year. That scale means legal and other costs are worth it if a challenge or judicial review can protect sales.
“It would be almost crazy not to object and try to delay the process,” says a grocery store source.
Planning disputes between supermarkets are now commonplace. Aldi's rivals lodged 77 objections to its planning applications between 2020 and the end of 2022, as well as launching 12 judicial reviews, according to The Grocer. The situation is similar with Lidl.
Martin Potter, a former Kent councilor who was involved in the dispute over the Lidl store in the area, says: «If you have deep enough pockets and you have the best planners in place, you can find a hole in any application.»
Hannah Quarterman, head of planning at law firm Hogan Lovells, says there is a “long history of supermarkets using [objections] as one of the tools to defend their positions.”
However, hostilities are intensifying. after the cost of living crisis caused a huge surge in customers flocking to supermarkets. According to Kantar, Aldi and Lidl have increased their combined market share from 13.7% in 2019 to almost 17%.
The 'legislation' between supermarkets is creating a headache for councils. One Lidl store in Gillingham, Kent, has been sent back to councilors four times after repeated complaints from Asda, prompting accusations of «gangster tactics».
«In my view they were using the planning system as a weapon,» says Potter, who represented Rainham North on Medway Council at the time.
Asda says the council accepted objections in this case. It says it will only object to a planning application if it is justified and if the development would have a negative impact on the environment, road safety or residential amenity. Other supermarkets take a similar position.
Whatever the true motivation, a flood of objections is slowing discounter plans to reopen. Aldi UK boss Giles Hurley told The Telegraph last year he had been forced to delay the supermarket's opening schedule due to a flood of planning objections.
«Aldi and Lidl will have 3,000 stores across the UK and Ireland,» says Paul Foley, Aldi's former UK boss. “But dealing with that last 1,000 is much more difficult than dealing with the first 2,000.”
German discounters are not averse to launching their own attacks in the scheduling battle: Foley notes that they, too, have launched their own objections to rival stores.
Earlier this month, Lidl applied for a judicial review of the opening of a new Aldi store in Horncastle, Lincolnshire, delaying construction on the site. Lidl said at the time the council should have considered its development plans as an assessment of the Aldi project.
“Nobody likes to talk about it, but Aldi and Lidl also object to competitors opening in areas where they already installed,” says Foley. “They do this to each other as well as to anyone else. That's the way it is.”
In Horley, Lidl can only wait. More than a year and a half after the discounter first unveiled its plans for the scheme, the company appears no closer to getting the green light.
Reigate and Banstead Council are preparing to defend against Tesco's legal action. But Lidl director Oliver McGuinness says this “business as usual situation of challenge from competitors” is infuriating.
“They are delaying or ultimately destroying households' ability to access increased choice and high-quality products. affordable food.»
Tesco declined to comment.
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