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A supermarket war in Horncastle looks set to rage on after a decision by the High Court to quash plans for a new store.

Aldi was granted planning permission by East Lindsey District Council in November 2022 for the store on land at Spilsby Road, which would have created about 40 jobs. The scheme also received 290 letters of support from Horncastle residents.

However, rival company Lidl mounted a legal challenge against the decision on the grounds that the council did not consider Lidl’s own revised application for a similar store in the town at the same time.

The council robustly defended the challenge. But now a judicial review, held by judges at the High Court, has come down in favour of Lidl, meaning the planning permission must be reversed and Aldi’s plans must be put on hold.

A computer-generated image of how the Aldi store on Spilsby Road in Horncastle might look if it is built.

A judicial review is a process by which judges examine decisions by public bodies and consider whether the law has been followed correctly. In this case, the judges ruled that the council failed to take into account Lidl’s scheme when backing the Aldi store.

A spokesperson for the council said: “We recognise the High Court’s decision on this case and will not be appealing the result.”

The conflict continues because both Aldi and Lidl say they are determined to press ahead with their attempts to build a store in Horncastle.

Mark Stringer, real estate director for Aldi, said: “We were thrilled to see our original proposal attract strong support from local people and councillors. They backed our plans to bring investment, new jobs and unbeatable value to Horncastle.

Supermarket giant Lidl mounted a successful legal challenge against a decision to grant rival company Aldi planning permission for a new store in Horncastle.

“While we are understandably disappointed with the outcome of the legal challenge, our commitment to the town remains unwavering.

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“We are confident that, with the support of local people, we can finally bring this positive investment to the town.

“We want to ensure that residents have access to the best possible shopping experience. We’re not giving up.”

A spokesperson for Lidl said: “We are fully committed to bringing a new store to Horncastle. Therefore, we are pleased with the court decision, which means both planning applications will now be determined equally.

"We look forward to hearing the next steps laid out by the council.”.

It is understood that Aldi and Lidl must now resubmit their plans to the council.

Supermarket war rages in Horncastle as judges quash plan for new Aldi store