Retired nurse fuming about new stores towering over her garden

A retired nurse in a Derbyshire town is mortified at the scale of a new Lidl and DIY store which is being built behind her home. Mandy Mulligan, aged 57, has lived in Circuit Drive, Long Eaton [1] for 11 years. However, she says the garden which she has enjoyed throughout that time will now be effectively devoid of sun and warmth [2] for much of the day due to the new Lidl supermarket and Wickes DIY store in land off Nottingham Road and Springfield Avenue [3].

She said the previous Stadium Retail Park, a series of industrial units, which had sat on the site until they were cleared in the past few years, were barely visible from ground level in her garden, unlike the new supermarket and DIY store. She says that she understood that the new buildings would be around the same height, but they are not, and present a very real presence in the view from her home. Ms Mulligan had objected to the “intrusive” supermarket and DIY store plans when they were originally debated in 2019 [4] and then re-discussed in 2022 but she said that the sheer scale of the proposed buildings had never truly dawned on her.

Plans to upgrade her garden now she has retired after 38 years in the NHS have been put on hold and may not go ahead and she is even considering moving away. However, she is clear that this is not a solution available for all residents and is not considered a fair alternative to the disruptive influence of the new builds. She told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “The afternoon and evening sun would normally bathe my patio area and back garden, but once the build is completed, it will completely obliterate the warmth and sun I did have when sitting outside and relaxing in the evening from this time of year through to early Autumn.

Building plans are all well and good but the reality can be very different. “I don’t think the sheer scale of the height of the building could in all honesty be truly realised from a plan, and how in reality it has actually impacted on the surrounding residents. All I can now see is a massive frame of a building that will now unfortunately be my view from the rear of my house from now on.

The large Lidl and Wickes stores being built off Nottingham Road in Long Eaton, as viewed from Ms Mulligan’s garden (Image: Derby Telegraph)

“It has affected me in that all I now see is a massive overbearing structure that obliterates a once reasonable view.

It is an absolute eyesore and is going to be absolutely hideous, there is nothing they can do to make it look any better, it’ll be like we are living on a retail park when it is finished. “None of the pictures showed this impact, they just showed a nice couple of buildings with a little car park, not the impact on our homes. In the summer I used to get sun in the garden until about 9pm or 10pm, but that won’t be the case any more.”

Clowes Developments, the company behind the plans, chaired by Derby County owner David Clowes, was approached for comment. A spokesperson said: “Stadium Retail Park obtained planning consent via a unanimous committee vote by Erewash Borough Council in November 2022. “As is the case with all planning applications, there is a window to raise objections.

On the whole, the support for the scheme from locals and residents has been positive. “Clowes Developments are building the development in line with the validated decision notice and planning conditions. We are delighted to bring a former derelict industrial site forward to deliver Lidl and Wickes to Long Eaton.”

Mandy Mulligan, aged 57, at her home in Circuit Drive, Long Eaton, behind which a large Lidl and Wickes store are being built (Image: Derby Telegraph)

Erewash Borough Council rejected Clowes’ initial plans in 2019 after making assessments on the impact of the shops on rival trade, with council officials claiming they could prove “category killers”.

However, Clowes won permission for their plans in 2021 after going to appeal. The firm returned with a different version of the scheme in 2022, seeking to marginally increase the size of the planned Lidl and doubling the size of the Wickes, along with an increase in car parking space, which was approved in November. At the time, the firm had said it hoped to open both new stores by November 2023.

In response to the first application in 2019, 44 residents wrote letters supporting the plans, with 14 against the plans, along with an opposing letter from rival supermarket Asda. Meanwhile, in 2022, in response to the tweaked plans, two opposing letters were written to the council with none in support. We send out the biggest stories in an email every day.

References

^ Long Eaton (www.derbytelegraph.co.uk)
^ will now be effectively devoid of sun and warmth (www.derbytelegraph.co.uk)
^ Lidl supermarket and Wickes DIY store in land off Nottingham Road and Springfield Avenue (www.derbytelegraph.co.uk)
^ supermarket and DIY store plans when they were originally debated in 2019 (www.derbytelegraph.co.uk)
^ Beloved Derby dad and lecturer died after rare cancer diagnosis was missed (www.derbytelegraph.co.uk)
^ the main Derbyshire Live newsletter here. (www.derbytelegraph.co.uk)