Backing for supermarket

Residents have again pledged their support for plans by budget supermarket chain Lidl to open up in the city after the firm's latest planning application.

Lidl has been attempting to open a store on the former Herman Miller site in Lower Bristol Road for the past two years and put in its first application in January last year.

The firm, which has more than 500 stores in the UK, bought the Grade II listed building in March 2006 with a view to converting it into a food store and three other shops, selling what were described as bulky non-food goods.

But Bath and North East Somerset Council rejected the application on the grounds that the three non-food stores could undermine the city's £360 million SouthGate shopping centre.

A further application was made in July last year which split the site into four, with one unit being used as a Lidl food store and the remaining three units remaining in their current business classification, which would rule out retail use.

This application has yet to be determined but meanwhile a new application has been made, which is similar to the first.

Around 20 residents have already shown their support for the application and Councillor Sharon Ball (Lib Dem, Westmoreland) said: "We hope this time it will go ahead. We need a store like this in the area."

Filming began at the University of Bath this week for a Channel 4 comedy which is expected to be shown in the new year.

Campus, a six-part series about university and campus life, is being made after the success of a pilot shown in November and filmed at High Wycombe and Hackney.