Planning approval for an Aldi supermarket at Canford Bottom is set to be reconsidered after concerns were raised about how the original decision was explained.
The application will return to Dorset Council’s eastern area planning committee after Lidl complained that councillors did not give adequate reasons when they approved the scheme in September, a claim the council disputes while accepting legal advice that the reasoning could be challenged.
A council report says officers disagree with Lidl’s assertion that no reasons were given, but legal advice warns the explanation was not strong enough, creating a risk of judicial review and prompting the monitoring officer to class the situation as exceptional.
Councillors are therefore being asked to look at the application again at a meeting on January 14, with officers still recommending approval and asking members to clearly set out what harms the development could cause and how these are balanced against the benefits.
Debate around the proposal has focused on whether the store can be built on Green Belt land, where development is normally restricted unless special circumstances apply.
When the plans were first approved, councillors argued the benefits, particularly for residents moving into new housing nearby, outweighed the impact on the Green Belt, with some describing the land as neither open space nor rural in character.
Lidl is planning to build on the car park behind the hedges in the middle of the photo above.
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