UP to 40 jobs will be created after long-awaited plans for a supermarket on the former Bradford & Bingley site in Bingley town centre were approved today.

The store for the Main Street site was given the green light under delegated powers after the chain bought the land from rivals Sainsbury’s last year.

Lidl has also submitted an application to the Council to sell alcohol between 7am and 11pm every day.

Lidl plan to start work on the site within the next two months and the store will open early next year. A business boss in the town hailed the news, saying it will bring a huge boost to Bingley’s regeneration.

Jamie Illingworth, Bingley Chamber of Trade and Commerce president, said: “I am delighted to hear that at long last work will commence on the site.

“It will bring a much needed boost to the regeneration of the town centre.”

Shipley MP Philip Davies said the supermarket will provide a much-needed increase in the town centre’s footfall.

The multi-million investment will boast state-of-the-art facilities including an in-store bakery and customer toilets.

Graham Burr, Lidl UK’s regional head of property, said: “We could not be more delighted to have received planning permission, and look forward to getting started on construction.

“I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the local community for their continued support, and very much look forward to opening our doors and offering our fresh, quality, great value products in the not too distant future.”

The plans include a total of 116 parking spaces, consisting of 101 standard bays, seven disabled spaces and eight parent and toddler bays.

A substation on the two-acre site will be retained as part of the proposal, which includes pedestrian access from Thrift Way.

The site has previously been described as an eyesore.

Sainsbury’s bought the site in 2010 and won planning permission to demolish the building and construct a new store in 2011. But in April 2015, as demolition was going ahead, the chain put the site on the market.

The former B&B headquarters, which previously stood at the site, was built in 1975, with a design inspired by the nearby Five Rise Locks.