RESIDENTS on a street set to neighbour a controversial new supermarket - if permission is granted - say the plans will destroy one of the last untouched green spaces in the area.
Andrew Bergin’s home on Cross Keys Lane may well be soon overshadowed by German discount retailer Lidl, which last week announced its plans for the site to the north of nearby Sheffield Road.
Lidl earmarked Hoyland as one of five areas it was exploring for a new site this summer, as part of its ongoing expansion - with aims to open 220 new stores in the UK by 2025, creating 4,000 jobs.
The store will create 40 full-time equivalent jobs once open which the retailer says will have hourly pay above the National Living Wage.
“I’m a realist - I can hope it doesn’t get passed, but if they’re going to build a Hermes warehouse that people don’t want, then they will pass it,” said Andrew, 56.
“Do we need 40 new jobs? It’s a small percentage of the hundreds or thousands of people Hermes will be employing, so it’s not as if we will be short.
“We could probably do with a Lidl in Hoyland, but it’s not an ideal place.
“And there aren’t many green spaces left around here.
“It’s a lovely field, with nice picturesque views, which is going to be destroyed.
“I can look out into my garden and see squirrels hopping along the fence - I wouldn’t get that if there was a supermarket there.
“I haven’t met anybody around here who wants it.”
Plans include 114 car parking spaces, including five disabled spaces, nine parent-and-child and two electric vehicle charging points.
The proposals have been met with mixed reactions, with the Save Hoyland group saying more jobs are welcome but not at the cost of ‘such an intense building focus’ in the town.
“Someone from Lidl came the other day, a lovely bloke, who said they’re trying to do anything they can to make it look better,” added Andrew.
“We put forward our objections in a friendly discussion.
“They obviously haven’t got permission yet.
“I wouldn’t call it a crafty ploy, but it’s their way of showing they are trying to help, and they can put that in the application then.
“They’re trying to landscape it and make sure any bright lights will be at the other side of the building.
“But when I look out from my back garden, all I’m going to see is Lidl.”
There are currently three Lidl supermarkets in the town - on Peel Street in the town centre, Mitchells Way in Wombwell and Wakefield Road in Mapplewell - and other potential new locations include Cudworth, Dodworth, Penistone and Worsbrough.
Consultants DPP planning ran a public consultation which ended on December 8, but said further opportunity to comment will be available once the application has been lodged with Barnsley’s planning department.
“The new store will provide a multi-million-pound investment into the area and will provide a range of great value products that are high quality at a low price, helping to diversify and increase shopping choice within the area,” said a spokesperson for DPP.
