Lidl set to open first pub after winning high court battle
Lidl fans rejoice – you could soon be drinking a freshly poured pint of its beloved discount beer after a High Court ruled it is allowed to open its first pub.
The discount supermarket chain first lodged plans to open its first tap room in 2020 in Dundonald, just outside Belfast, Northern Ireland.
The scheme was approved, with Lidl previously telling Metro it would be ‘an off-licence service along with a public house.’
But the supermarket chain faced an objection from Philip Russell Ltd, which runs several off-licences across Northern Ireland.
The off licence operator said Lidl failed to demonstrate there weren’t already shops or pubs in the area that were already selling alcohol, something that Lidl needed to do so it could legally open a new pub/off licence in Northern Ireland.
It claimed Lidl was also trying to get round Northern Ireland’s tough alcohol licencing laws by branding the location as a pub and an off-licence.
But in a new ruling, the judge Mr Justice Colton rejected the complaints by Philip Russell Ltd.
He said: ‘The application was a novel one is not a reason for refusing it.’
It was also ruled as fine to open because of Dundonald’s growing population and closeness to shopping and transport facilities.
Mr Justice Colton continued: ‘It may well be that it will not meet the full demand for licenced premises within the vicinity given its size and lack of food provision.
‘That however does not mean that (Lidl) fails to establish inadequacy.’
He added: ‘I accept that it has concluded that the public house will be profitable, knowing that if it closed through lack of profitability an evitable consequence would be that the off-licence permission would lapse following any such decision.
‘I am satisfied that it meets the statutory requirements and there is no good reason for refusing the application.’
Lid previously said it will spend £410,000 to fit out the new pub.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.