CUT-price supermarket Lidl announced it was to build a new store in Taunton just yards from Tesco, the County Gazette reported back in February 2015.

It planned to relocate from its existing premises in Wood Street to the site of the former Taunton Youth and Community Centre, a couple of hundred yards away in Castle Street.

Its riverside premises at the time would be bulldozed and were earmarked for a development of retirement flats.

Lidl, which has another store in the town in Roman Road, was granted planning permission for the new store by Taunton Deane Council.

READ MORE: Site derelict after store demolished and Lidl relocates.

A Lidl spokesman said: “We are delighted to have been granted planning permission for a new Lidl store in Taunton.

“At this stage we still have work to do with the local authorities with regards to discharging the planning conditions and S106 (planning gain) agreement so we will be able to release more details in due course.

“We are excited to be bringing the local residents a modern store soon.”

READ MORE: New Lidl store opens in Taunton.

Churchill Retirement Living was then expected to submit a planning application for around 60 retirement flats where the old Lidl store stood, which would be demolished once the supermarket relocated.

Churchill’s planning director Andrew Burgess said: “We’re pleased Lidl has been granted planning permission – it means we can now move forward with our plans.”

The apartments, which were unlikely to be ready before 2017, would be part of a four-storey sheltered housing scheme, with some communal facilities.

“People will be living independently in their own apartments with a lodge manager overseeing things,” said Mr Burgess.

He added: “In assessing the potential for redevelopment of this site, we have had due regard to the character of the area, local residential amenity, the riverside walk, flooding and the adopted and emerging planning policy for Taunton town centre.

READ MORE: Riverain Lodge officially opened in Taunton.

“We will be bringing forward a high quality retirement development, well located to the facilities in the town, which will meet the housing needs of older people in Taunton, who wish to ‘right size’ and move to accommodation better suited to their needs.”

The Lidl store has since opened in Castle Street, opposite the main Tesco supermarket, while residents have since moved into Riverain Lodge overlooking Goodland Gardens and the River Tone.

Lidl more recently demolished its store in Roman Road ahead of opening its bigger store on an expanded site there.