Discount retailer Lidl will no longer be opening a supermarket on St Michael’s Retail Park in Ripon, the Stray Ferret understands.

The news comes more than two years after the company was granted planning permission for the site in September 2021.

The Stray Ferret understands the German retailer’s contract expired following ongoing delays in the project. However, it remains keen to open a store in the city.

At the time of approval, Lidl said the Ripon supermarket would create up to 40 jobs and have a sales area of 1,100 sqm.

The store would have taken over the three empty units at the Rotary Way retail park.

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However, Lidl is searching for new site locations across the UK, with Harrogate and Ripon both featuring in its list of priority locations published last autumn.

The company said it requires “prominent locations with easy access” and “strong pedestrian or traffic flow”. Town centres, the edge of town centres or retail parks are also a site requirement, it added.

On the subject of opening more stores, Ryan McDonnell, Lidl GB CEO, said in April last year: 

“The last few years have been challenging for everyone, but we’ve made it clear that we’re more committed than ever to ensuring that every single household has access to a Lidl store. 

“That’s why our focus is firmly on the future as we continue to grow and invest in our infrastructure, while keeping a lookout for more sites and locations across the country.”

The search for sites comes as part of Lidl’s plan to open more than 1,100 new stores across the UK.

The supermarket chain already operates store in Harrogate and Knaresborough.

Six electric vehicle charging points are now in operation at the North Yorkshire Council controlled Cathedral Car Park in Ripon.

They add to a number of other locations across the city where drivers can re-charge their batteries. They include Blossomgate Car Park, Booth’s Supermarket at Marshall Way Retail Park, the Jack Laugher Leisure and Wellness Centre on Dallamires Lane, M & S Food at Rotary Way, Morrisons Supermarket on Harrogate Road and Phoenix Business Centre at Low Mill Road.

North Yorkshire Council’s executive agreed a new county-wide strategy for electric charging points this year.

The strategy showed there are almost 4,000 electric vehicles registered in North Yorkshire but just 225 publicly available charge points.

It is forecast that 3,161 charge points need to be installed and just under half of these need to be funded by the public sector at a cost of approximately £10.3 million. It is expected that at least half of the publicly funded chargers (724) will need to be ready by 2025 to meet demand.

The council has secured £3.2 million from the national Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) pilot scheme to install 150 charging points across the county.

They are being installed alongside battery storage units, charged by solar panels.

Firefighters from Ripon rescued a baby that was locked inside a car in the city yesterday.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service’s incident report for last night said firefighters were called to Rotary Way at 6pm.

Rotary Way is a short distance from Ripon Fire Station’s site on Stonebridgegate and is the location of St Michael’s Retail Park, which includes M&S Simply Food.

The circumstances surrounding the incident are not revealed in detail.

The incident log added:

“Crews used small tools also with the assistance of a civilian mechanic at the scene.

“The baby was left in the hands of parents, advice given.”

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Lidl has declined to give an update on its plans for a Ripon supermarket — more than 18 months after it received planning permission.

The German retailer was given the go-ahead to build a supermarket alongside M&S Food at St Michael’s Retail Park in September 2021.

At the time Lidl said it would create up to 40 jobs and occupy three units at the £10m Rotary Way site, which opened in 2020.

But there have been no updates since, prompting the Stray Ferret to ask the company this week if it still planned to proceed with the scheme and, if so, when work would start.

The company has so far declined to respond.