Stop Lidl on Elvetham Heath

06/05/2026

13/03/2026

Thank you to everyone who wrote to our MP, and thank you Alex Brewer For North East Hampshire for highlighting our concerns to the Planning Inspector.

04/02/2026

📢 UPDATE: Local voices are now on the Council portal

All public representations sent to the Planning Inspectorate about the Lidl appeal at Elvetham Heath have now been uploaded to the Hart District Council planning portal.

📊 The headline numbers are clear:

82 total representations

70 objections

10 in support

2 neutral

➡️ 85% of respondents OBJECTED to this proposal.

🚫 Why people objected

The same concerns came up again and again:

Severe traffic congestion – especially at school-run and peak times

Danger to children and pedestrians on routes to local schools

Loss of trees and increased pollution

A supermarket in the wrong place – a residential estate, not a retail park

No proven need and further harm to Fleet town centre

It’s a strong, consistent community response.

Thank you to everyone who spoke up. We’ll keep pushing to protect Elvetham Heath and keep you updated on what happens next.

✋ Stop Lidl on Elvetham Heath

15/01/2026

STOP the "Lidl Con": Is Fleet being sold out for a German empire's profit? 🛑

The developers of the proposed Lidl at Elvetham Heath have appealed the Council’s decision to refuse planning permission.

They call it "cheaper groceries." We call it traffic chaos and the death of our High Street.

The developers are betting that the people of Fleet are easily fooled. They’re using the "cost of living" as a shield to hide their extraction of profit from our community.

Who are the Real Players?

💰 The Landowner: Sir Euan Calthorpe. A Baronet looking for the ultimate payout, regardless of the legacy left behind.

🏢 The Empire: The Schwarz Group. The multi-billion-dollar global machine behind Lidl.

The Reality Check:

🚦 They won’t sit in the traffic on Elvetham Heath.

🏚️ They won’t be there when our local independent shops are forced to board up their windows.

They just want the profit, and they’ll leave us with the consequences.

WE NEED TO ACT NOW. Don’t let them con our community.

👉 Take 2 minutes to object here: www.rale.org.uk

About this website Many residents of Elvetham Heath (near Fleet) and the surrounding area are opposed to the proposal to open a new Lidl foodstore. For enquiries please contact [email protected]

14/01/2026

DON'T WAKE UP TO A NEW REALITY IN 2027.

In a few years, when we're sat in 30-minute queues just to get off the estate, or when another local shop in Fleet closes its doors, we don't want to say "I wish I'd done something."

This is the final week. If we stay silent, the developer's flawed holiday traffic data and "retail myths" become the official record.

1 minute of your time today = The future of Fleet for the next 20 years.

👇 CLICK THE LINK IN THE COMMENTS TO OBJECT NOW.

12/01/2026

When the developers who plan to turn our green gateway into a retail park wanted to prove their shop won't cause traffic chaos, they didn't survey the school run. They didn't survey the Monday morning rush.

They surveyed during the school holidays. ☀️🤐

If this development goes ahead based on this "ghost data," the congestion will be permanent.

We have 7 DAYS left to tell the Inspector that we won't be ignored.

👇 CLICK THE LINK IN THE COMMENTS TO OBJECT NOW.

About this website Many residents of Elvetham Heath (near Fleet) and the surrounding area are opposed to the proposal to open a new Lidl foodstore. For enquiries please contact [email protected]

10/01/2026

The £20 Million Myth: Why another out-of-town store won't grow Fleet's economy.

The developers behind the Elvetham Heath Lidl plan claim that building a new discount retailer will magically stop £20 million of spending from "leaking" out of our district to towns like Basingstoke or Farnborough.

It sounds good on paper. But we have already tested this theory.

🛑 The Aldi Precedent

In 2022, Aldi opened on Beacon Hill Road. The argument then was the same: it would keep shoppers in Fleet.

Yet, the developer’s own survey data from 2023 (a year after Aldi opened) shows that the massive expenditure leakage still exists. The "clawback" didn't happen.

The Reality Check:

History proves that adding another discounter doesn't stop people leaving town for major shopping trips. Instead, it just saturates the local market and "cannibalises" trade from our existing High Street shops and the current Aldi/Morrisons/Waitrose.

We don't need more speculative "leakage" models that fail in the real world. We need to protect the delicate ecosystem of Fleet Town Centre.

08/01/2026

Want to double your impact? Email our MP, Alex Brewer For North East Hampshire. Ask her to write to the Planning Inspectorate to highlight the mathematical flaws in the developer’s traffic and retail data. Our MP’s voice represents us all, so let’s make sure it’s heard in the Inquiry.

Go here to open a customisable template: https://www.rale.org.uk/ .x9ejnsv7c75w, and make sure to include your full name and address.

07/01/2026

Is Fleet Town Centre worth saving? 🛍️

The developers admit their new store will drain trade away from Fleet High Street. Our town centre is thriving, but it’s a delicate balance.

By displacing local shoppers, a Lidl on Elvetham Heath would threaten the future of our independent shops, cafes, and the "linked trips" that keep our High Street alive.

We need houses on brownfield land, not a duplicate retail box that damages our local economy. Tell the Inspector: Fleet says NO.

Read the objection guidance: www.rale.org.uk

05/01/2026

Don't let them get away with the holiday traffic data trick!

The developer for the proposed Lidl on the Elvetham Heath green gateway submitted fresh "evidence" with their planning appeal. Their secret? They measured traffic during the school summer holidays to make the roads look quiet!

We know the truth: Term-time traffic is a nightmare. A new supermarket entrance here will bottle-neck our only way in and out of the western end of Elvetham Heath.

Don't let them distort our community's reality with flawed data. Object to the Planning Inspectorate today!

Get the Objection Guide: https://www.rale.org.uk/

About this website Many residents of Elvetham Heath (near Fleet) and the surrounding area are opposed to the proposal to open a new Lidl foodstore. For enquiries please contact [email protected]