Plans have been lodged for a new Lidl discount foodstore and replacement long-stay car park on land off Tinever Road in Chivenor, a scheme that could bring a 1,969 sq m supermarket, 117 parking spaces and around 40 jobs to the edge of Braunton.
The application, submitted by Lidl Great Britain Limited, seeks full planning permission for the “erection of a new discount foodstore (Use Class E) with parking, alongside a standalone long-stay car park with access, landscaping and other associated works.”
The proposed store would have a gross internal area of 1,969 sq m, including 1,347 sq m of net sales area.
The sales space would be split on an “80:20 split between convenience and comparison retail floorspace”, equating to around 1,078 sq m for convenience goods and 269 sq m for comparison goods.
The remaining floorspace would comprise warehouse and ancillary areas including “customer toilets, an in-store bakery, staff welfare facilities, ancillary office space and storage / utility space.”
A total of 117 car parking spaces are proposed for the store, made up of “100 ‘standard’ parking spaces; 6 accessible parking bays; 9 parent & child spaces; and 2 EV bays” . Cycle parking would be provided in the form of six Sheffield stands offering 12 short-stay spaces.
In addition, the plans include a 35-space Council-owned and managed long-stay car park to replace the existing unoperated park and ride facility on the site . The planning statement explains that “the current P&R facility in the north-eastern section at the site is replaced with a 35-space Council managed long-stay car park for the Tarka Trail.”
Access to the foodstore would be taken from Tinever Road via a new priority junction, while the long-stay car park would have its own separate access from the same road.
The application site extends to approximately 0.98 hectares and comprises “a recently developed, unoperated Park and Ride (‘P&R’) facility, and adjoining undeveloped land.”
It is bounded by the A361 Exeter Road to the north, Tinever Road to the east and south, and industrial and commercial units to the west.
Previous outline planning permission was granted in 2014 for a wider mixed-use development, including employment land, housing, a roundabout on the A361 and a park and ride facility.
The planning statement notes that the site lies “within the defined development boundary for Braunton and Wrafton, where the principle of new development is acceptable in accordance with adopted development plan.”
However, because the proposal is outside a defined town centre, a sequential assessment and retail impact assessment have been submitted.
In its formal pre-application response, the council stated that “it is certainly evident that there are very few, suitable available and achievable alternatives within or even on the edge of Braunton Village Centre.”
A Transport Assessment submitted with the application describes the proposed development as a “2,046sqm Gross External Area (GEA) / 1,969sqm Gross Internal Area (GIA) Lidl foodstore alongside associated parking provision for 117 cars” .
The assessment confirms that vehicular access would be achieved via a priority junction from Tinever Road and that a separate access would serve the replacement long-stay car park.
Traffic surveys were undertaken in November 2025 at key junctions in the area . In terms of road safety, the report states that during the five-year period from January 2020 to December 2024 “a total of 3 collisions have been recorded within the search area, which were all classed as ‘slight’ in severity” . It concludes that “there are no existing highway safety patterns or concerns which indicate any inherent highway design issues… which could be exacerbated by the proposed development.”
The store is expected to employ “around 40 staff members in a combination of both part and full-time positions.”
Store opening hours are envisaged as 7am to 10pm Monday to Saturday and 10am to 4pm on Sundays .
Pre-application discussions took place with council officers, who “expressed their support for the principle of the proposed development, including the relocation and reduction of the existing P&R facility” , subject to the necessary assessments being undertaken.
An information leaflet was distributed to around 5,500 households in the local area in January 2026, inviting feedback via email, freephone number or an online consultation website .
North Devon Council will now consider the application in light of the submitted assessments and any representations received, before deciding whether to grant planning permission for the scheme.
