Lidl supermarket for Robin Hood site

- 12 October 2009

A LIDL store will open on the site of the former Robin Hood pub next summer.

The supermarket in Longbridge Road will employ up to 30 staff.

The landmark pub was nearly 100 years old when it shut in 2005.

It is hoped the budget store will make as much as £2.3million a year.

A report to councillors said it could act as a magnet for shoppers without competing against nearby existing stores.

The German-owned Lidl chain has also agreed to spend £85,000 to spruce up the surrounding street scene, but old plans to build 26 flats with the store were scrapped.

A Lidl spokesman said: "We believe that, along with the council, we have created a bespoke design which sits well in this prominent location.

"The estimated start on site is the end of 2009, with the predicted opening in early summer 2010.