29th July 2025
A new Lidl supermarket could soon be coming to Thame, as the German discount grocery chain formally submitted a request to South Oxfordshire District Council (SODC) for a screening opinion under Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) regulations. The proposed site, located at 47 Aylesbury Road, currently houses a three-storey office building and two-storey warehouse.
According to documents submitted by Rapleys LLP on behalf of Lidl Great Britain, the proposal includes the construction of a 2,184 square metre discount foodstore (with a net sales area of 1,529 square metres), alongside associated access, parking, and landscaping on the 1.05-hectare site. The development would feature 130 parking spaces, including dedicated bays for disabled users, parents with children, and electric vehicle charging.
The planning submission does not yet include a full application but seeks a determination from the Council on whether an Environmental Impact Assessment is necessary. While the site exceeds the 1-hectare threshold for “urban development projects” under Schedule 2 of the 2017 EIA Regulations, Lidl’s representatives argue that the scale and nature of the development do not constitute grounds for significant environmental impact, and therefore an EIA should not be required.
The proposed foodstore would operate from 8am to 10pm Monday through Saturday—including Bank Holidays—and 10am to 4pm on Sundays. Deliveries are expected to be minimal, with only two HGV visits per day, and all store waste managed internally to limit traffic impact.
One noteworthy planning consideration is that the site falls within Flood Zone 3, indicating a high probability of flooding. Nevertheless, Lidl has emphasized that the proposal is not “unusually complex or potentially hazardous” and maintains that the environmental effects are unlikely to be significant.
The site is considered an “out-of-centre” location under retail policy definitions, being around 0.7km north of Thame Town Centre. It is not allocated for development in the South Oxfordshire Local Plan or the Thame Neighbourhood Development Plan.
Lidl's submission now awaits a formal opinion from South Oxfordshire District Council. If the Council determines that no EIA is required, a full planning application is expected to follow.
For more information or to comment on the proposal, visit the South Oxfordshire District Council planning portal and search for application reference P25/S2084/SCR.
