Supermarket chain Lidl has revealed plans for a major expansion of its Aberystwyth store by taking over the neighbouring Iceland shop.

The proposal, which has been lodged with Ceredigion County Council, would see Lidl expand into the Iceland store on the Rheidol Retail Park, almost doubling the size of the store to 1,300 square metres. New jobs would also be created.

Iceland has confirmed that they are already looking at alternative premises in Aberystwyth, so they could relocate.

Lidl owns the whole of the Rheidol Retail Park after agreeing an £8m deal for the freehold at the beginning of this year.

The current Argos store would remain in place as part of the proposed Lidl development, which would also see front and rear extensions to house the new store, with a new loading bay and elevational changes.

A spokesperson for Iceland said the company was aware of Lidl’s intention to expand their Aberystwyth store, but stressed that their lease of the building still had a further two years to run and they could not be removed before then without their consent.

See this week’s Aberystwyth paper for the full story, available in shops and as a digital edition now