Projects in Athy and Newbridge central to Lidl's continued expansion across Ireland

German retail giants Lidl are planning to increase their number of stores to over 200 in what could be a total investment of over €300 million, and many of the company's plans revolve around their premises in county Kildare. The company are hoping that they receive planning permission for a huge new distribution centre in Newbridge that would cost €8 million to complete if Kildare County Council give it the green light. The 31 acre site in the townlands of Greatconnell, Littleconnell and Oldconnell would have a facility of almost 58,000 sq metres in size and there will be 325 parking spaces on the site. Another development that is seen as a major move forward is the introduction of self-service checkouts at their stores across the country, and the company have been trialing the system at their store in Athy. Should that be successful it will be rolled out nationwide to some of its 152 outlets across the Republic of Ireland. "We're not going to going to stop until we have a Lidl store in close proximity to everyone in the country," said Lidl Ireland Manager John Paul Scally in today's Irish Independent.

"It will bring us to about 200 stores in total in the Republic of Ireland and a little bit under 50 in Northern Ireland," he added. "We're not fixated on a figure. At this stage of our development, it's important that we get the right locations, the right sites and choose wisely."