Lidl to create hundreds of jobs with 16 new stores

The supermarket chain Lidl has announced plans to open 16 new stores in Northern Ireland by 2032.

The expansion is expected to add around £475m each year to the local economy and increase the Lidl workforce to 2,400, according to a report commissioned by the retailer.

Lidl accounts for around 10% of the grocery market in Northern Ireland - and the plans mean there will more than 60 stores in the country.

The retailer currently has a workforce of about 1,400.

As well as opening new stores in recent years it has been refurbishing or completely rebuilding its existing shops.

The KPMG report said the cost of building the 16 new stores is estimated at around £500m.

The company used the announcement to restate its criticisms of the challenges it faces in opening new stores.

Chief executive of Lidl Ireland and Northern Ireland Robert Ryan said its "ability to realise this impact is contingent entirely on the planning system".

The company has repeatedly voiced frustration at delays to a proposed store in the North West, an £8m development which the company said has been in the planning system for more than six years.

Gordon Cruikshanks, Lidl regional managing director, said "delays, inconsistencies and uncertainty" were "hindering economic growth".

"Our ongoing challenges in Derry-Londonderry are particularly frustrating, given that our sole existing store there records the highest footfall of our entire store network in Northern Ireland and one of the highest footfalls in the entire international Lidl store network."

He added: "Like many businesses, we encounter challenges right across the planning system at both local and central government level in Northern Ireland.

"Rather than acting as an economic lever, these delays, inconsistencies and uncertainty in the system defer investment, reduce scale and limit the realisation of economic and social benefits."