Plans to build a new Lidl supermarket in Balsall Common have been thrown out by council planners as an application for an Aldi on the opposite side of the road was given the green light.

Lidl's plans would have seen a new supermarket with 1,411 square metres of retail space, a 120-space car park and a new 'half-roundabout-type' junction created to the eastern side of Kenilworth Road.

But planning officers at Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council (SMBC) refused the application in October, saying it would be inappropriate use of the green belt.

"The proposed development amounts to inappropriate development in the green belt," a council report said. 

"This causes harm by definition, harm to openness and is contrary to one of the five purposes of including land in the green belt, namely encroachment. 

"It is not considered that the circumstances put forward in support of the proposed development clearly outweigh this harm, and any other harm, and therefore they do not amount to the very special circumstances that would need to be demonstrated."

Planners did recognise the development would create 40 extra jobs and said there was no viable alternative site in the local area.

They also said the shop would provide "enhanced consumer choice for the residents of Balsall Common".

But the report continued: "The applicant has failed to demonstrate that the proposed access arrangements would not result in an unacceptable increase in delay to vehicles or a reduction in safety for any users of the highway."

Berkswell Parish Council and Balsall Parish Council both objected to the application, raising concerns about the green belt and saying the access off Kenilworth Road would be unsafe.

In its application Lidl argued: "This proposal will be constructed to a high quality with sensitivity to the local environment, employing contemporary and sustainable design and materials to create an attractive, high quality building which is appropriate to its surrounding built environment."

But planning permission was refused last month.

The decision came just days before councillors at SMBC gave the green light to competitor Aldi to demolish a former service station building on the former Edwins Autos site.

In that application planners also said it was harmful to the green belt which most of the site is on. 

Aldi's new supermarket will replace a former service station on the other side of Kenilworth Road (image via Google Maps)

But a council report presented to councillors said: "Having considered the totality of the benefits of the proposed development against the totality of its harms, the benefits do clearly outweigh the extent of harms. 

"The very special circumstances necessary to justify the proposal do exist."

See the full Lidl application here.