Progress made on new Lidl in Shinfield in expansion plans

The supermarket is being built in Beke Avenue, as part of a new community of more than 1,000 new homes in Shinfield.

Photos show the structure and wall foundations of the building being completed, but the future supermarket is clearly not ready for occupation yet as the site remains sealed off.

The Lidl will form part of the Shinfield West Major Development of 1,200 homes, many of which have been built west of Hyde End Lane.

The development has largely been delivered in phases, with the Local Centre which the Lidl is located within being the third phase of the development.

Once complete, the local centre will contain the supermarket, a new community centre and a total of 25 homes.

Of those, 19 will be houses and six will be flats contained in one new three-storey building, made up of three one-bedroom flats and three two-bedroom flats.

Outline plans for the  local centre were approved by Wokingham Borough Council's planning committee in October 2021.

The layout of the local centre and 25 home plan in the Shinfield West development off Beke Avenue. Credit: Thrive Architects

Earlier this year, the council's planning department approved seven more homes for the third phase of the development.

The houses, which will be a mixture of three and four-bedroom homes, will be located directly east of the supermarket.

The development forms part of Wokingham Borough Council's wider approval of housebuilding projects in Shinfield.

The council website states: "The Shinfield Parish major development site will see about 3,000 new homes in total, spread over extensions to Shinfield village, Three Mile Cross and Spencers Wood."

The Lidl in Shinfield is being built as the German supermarket is expanding its presence in Berkshire.

The company applied for a licence to sell alcohol from 7am to 11pm each day at a prospective new store at the Reading Retail Park off Oxford Road.

READ MORE: How many Lidl's are there in Reading amind expansion plans?

There are currently four Lidl supermarkets in the Reading urban area, located in Oxford Road, Basingstoke Road in Whitley, Bath Road in Calcot and Headley Road in Woodley.

In 2021, Lidl announced intentions to open new locations in Caversham, Winnersh, Woodley and Tilehurst, along with new stores in Thatcham and Newbury. 

The supermarket giant already has two locations in Newbury.

Further afield, Lidl also has a plan to open in Bracknell and a third store in Slough.

The German grocery chain celebrates its 30th anniversary in Great Britain this year, with the first 10 Lidl stores being opened in 1994.

The company recently held a series of events inviting contractors to learn about the opportunities to work with Lidl as part of its ambitious plans to open hundreds of new stores.