A BUDGET supermarket chain’s plans to bring a new store to Eastwood could finally come to fruition at the third attempt.

Lidl, which hopes to expand its Southend empire, has wanted to build a store on the site of the former Safestore on the corner of Progress Road and Rayleigh Road, Eastwood, for years, in a move which has divided the community.

Last April, councillors turned down the German firm’s proposals, saying they were too boring.

They wanted a landmark building to go at the entrance to the Progress Road Industrial Estate.

Lidl, which has three stores in the borough already, has altered the design of its new supermarket and now planning bosses at Southend Council have recommended approval for the scheme at next Wednesday’s development control meeting.

Nora Goodman, former mayor of Southend Council and chairman of Eastwood Residents’ Association, said: “People desperately need a supermarket down here. In Eastwood, we’re a bit up in the sticks. They call it the great divide between the A127 and there a lot of pensioners here who would use it. I was a councillor for 30 years and I have a good idea about what people want, and I haven’t spoken to anyone here that doesn’t want it.”

The application also includes 23 office and industrial units on the site, which was the home of the Safestore until its move further up Progress Road.

The proposal has divided Eastwood, with three-quarters of visitors to a public consultation backing the scheme, but nearby businesses signing a 53-signature petition against it.

The store will create 40 jobs if it opens, and offices on site will see another 53 roles created.

But Robert Byford, of Byfords Food Hall, in Eastwood Old Road, said: “It will cause a lot of traffic problems. We don’t need the employment, and we don’t need the supermarket.

“The planning application does not look much different to what has been submitted before.”

The site will also encroach on to nearby Essex Plywood and Timber, in Rayleigh Road, but Lidl has bought up the firm.

As revealed by the Echo last summer, Lidl bought Safestore for £1.3million, despite not having planning permission.

The firm has also reduced the number of parking spaces on site from 74 to 72, and will provide £25,000 to improve the Rayleigh Road and Progress Road junction.

A Lidl spokeswoman said: “We would like to take the opportunity to thank local residents for their continued support.”