Boultham mosque and Lidl set for approval

City planners are recommending the approval of a planning application that would see the site of the former Boultham Dairy turned into a mosque, a supermarket and a housing development.

As previously reported, the application site is the land formerly occupied by the now-demolished Boultham Dairy, at the junction of Dixon Street and Boultham Park Road.

The development entails a new Lidl supermarket, which would replace the one in St Marks, as well as a mosque on the eastern side with access from Dixon Street.

Artist’s impression of the new Lidl store

The planning application was first submitted in June and garnered a mixed set of reactions from residents in the area.

A petition against the proposals had 554 signatories, while a petition in favour of the development had 451 signatures.

The City Council received 109 letters in support of the Boultham Dairy plans and 67 individual letters against the application.

The letters of objection raised issues about potential traffic increases and parking problems in the area, as well as the design of the supermarket building.

However, the Highway Authority concluded that “in relation to traffic capacity and highway safety, the proposed development is acceptable.”

The outline plan for the Boultham Dairy development

Recent proposals for a mosque on the corner of Church Drive and Boultham Park Road were rejected on the grounds of increased demand for on street parking, in an otherwise quiet residential area.

The plans for the mosque on the former dairy site however include 70 parking spaces, which city planners deemed acceptable in a report:

“The impact from the current application would be contained within the site in terms of car parking provision and any change in activity and movements would affect the existing busy roads around the site and would not have an unacceptable impact on the nearby residential areas.”

Regarding the looks of the new supermarket, the council report explained “the site had very little visual appeal as the Dairy and so a well designed new development would be able to enhance the visual amenity of the area.”

The planners recommended the City of Lincoln Council approves the application at a Planning Committee on October 24.