Plans for Lidl’s first ever in-store pub opening on the site of one of its supermarkets can be revealed today after the chain won a High Court battle with local off-licences.
Drawings sent to planning officials reveal the £410,000 pub in Dundonald, Co Down, will have six seats next to the bar as well as tables and chairs around the room.
The plans also reveal there will be three toilets – a standard customer WC, another for staff and an accessible unisex toilet – and doors leading to the store and car park.
The pub will have a chill store, keg room, storage area and office space – alongside an ‘off-sales’ area where alcohol can be bought for consumption off the premises.
The site will be located at the back of the supermarket – but it has taken five years to get to this stage since planning permission for a tap room was first granted in 2020.
Lidl faced an objection from Philip Russell Ltd, which runs several off-licences across Northern Ireland – but judge Mr Justice Colton has now rejected the complaint.
In the challenge, Belfast-based Philip Russell said Lidl failed to demonstrate there were not already shops or pubs in the area that were already selling alcohol.
This was something that Lidl needed to do so it could legally open a new pub or off licence under the Licensing (Northern Ireland) Order 1996.
Drawings submitted to planning officials show the £410,000 Lidl pub in Dundonald, Co Down
The pub will be located on the left side of the existing Lidl supermarket in Dundonald (above)
Plans also reveal the proposed shop front elevation once the pub and off-sales area are opened
Philip Russell claimed Lidl was also trying to get round Northern Ireland’s tough alcohol licencing laws by branding the location as a pub and an off-licence.
But in a rejection of the complaints this week, the judge said: ‘The application was a novel one is not a reason for refusing it.’
It was also ruled as fine to open because of Dundonald’s growing population and closeness to shopping and transport facilities.
Mr Justice Colton continued: ‘It may well be that it will not meet the full demand for licenced premises within the vicinity given its size and lack of food provision.
‘That however does not mean that (Lidl) fails to establish inadequacy.’
He added: ‘I accept that it has concluded that the public house will be profitable, knowing that if it closed through lack of profitability an evitable consequence would be that the off-licence permission would lapse following any such decision.
The lime green shaded area is where the pub is expected to be located at the back of the store
An aerial view of the Lidl supermarket in Dundonald, with the pub set to be located on the left
‘I am satisfied that it meets the statutory requirements and there is no good reason for refusing the application.’
Earlier this month, Lidl hailed a jump in sales over Christmas as shoppers turned to the discount retailer to buy their champagne and party food.
The German chain revealed that sales increased by 7 per cent year-on-year, as turnover surpassed £1billion over the four weeks to December 24. Lidl said it was a ‘record’ festive period for the retailer.
The figures represent continued solid growth at Lidl, which grew its share of the UK grocery market in 2024 as it attracted more shoppers and opened more stores.
In December, industry analysts at Kantar reported that Lidl was the fastest growing bricks-and-mortar grocer over the past quarter, as it closes in on Morrisons’ position as the UK’s fifth largest supermarket group.
Tesco previously opened a pub outside one of its stores to mark the King’s Coronation in 2023
Tesco’s King in the Castle on Cowcross Street in London was a pop-up on May 4 and 5, 2023
Nevertheless, the latest festive performance reflected slower growth than the 12 per cent increase in sales over the same four week period a year earlier, when it also benefited from higher food and drink inflation.
While Lidl is the first supermarket to open a pub attached to their stores, Tesco previously opened a pub outside one of its stores to mark the King’s Coronation in 2023.
The King in the Castle, located on Cowcross Street near Farringdon railway station in Central London, was the site of the pop-up shop on May 4 and 5 that year, complete with a coronation-themed menu.
All proceeds went to the supermarket’s charity partner, the Prince’s Trust, which was founded by King Charles III in his former role as The Prince of Wales to support young people across the UK.
Lidl declined to comment when contacted by MailOnline today.
