Lidl has notified Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council of a development proposal for a mixed-use scheme in Ballycastle, Co. Antrim, comprising a new discount foodstore and mixed-tenure housing on a five-acre greenfield site on Leyland Road, directly east of Cross and Passion College.

The Belfast Telegraph reported that the proposal forms part of a wider Lidl strategy to target towns with smaller populations as it works toward a long-term target of approximately 66 stores across Northern Ireland.

The Leyland Road site is surrounded by established residential developments including Leyland Park, Leyland Meadow, and Gortamaddy Park, providing a well-connected residential catchment for the proposed store.

The Ballycastle proposal is one of several recent planning moves by Lidl Northern Ireland. The retailer is on site in Dundonald, Co. Down, where construction is underway on a new public house and off-sales unit adjacent to its existing store, with opening expected in summer 2026. In Carrickfergus, planning permission has been granted for a £5.5m replacement store on the existing Belfast Road site, expanding the current floorplate from 1,047 to 1,499 sq m alongside a new drive-through café.

The Ballycastle scheme follows a pattern of creative planning strategies deployed by Lidl elsewhere in Northern Ireland, including the acquisition of a housing estate in Bangor to secure a new site and the demolition and rebuilding of retail units as part of its Strabane development.

Earlier this year, Lidl's Irish CEO and its northern managing director raised concerns with MLAs at Stormont about delays in reforming Northern Ireland's planning system, citing a five-year wait for a decision on a previously approved store at Derry's Crescent Link Retail Park.

Read the full report on Lidl's Ballycastle development proposal and Northern Ireland expansion strategy.