LIDL has been urged by a councillor to tidy up the site of its proposed new store in Bingley after hoardings were damaged.

The German supermarket chain bought the former Bradford & Bingley site in January and is still waiting to officially submit its planning application to Bradford Council.

Councillor David Heseltine (Con, Bingley) said a number of the site’s large wooden boards had come loose in high winds and landed on the pavement in Main Street.

He said pedestrians or motorists could be injured if it happened again.

Cllr Heseltine has called on Lidl, which bought the site from Sainsbury’s, to replace the boards with a more robust and attractive alternative, while it awaited planning permission.

He said: “It’s horrible. The boards have been deteriorating for a while now.

“These aren’t just small pieces coming off, they are large chunks falling off it. It is in a busy place.

“Lidl need to do something about it before it ends up going into the road.

“It is doing no good for Lidl’s reputation.

“They need to spruce it up, it is not very aesthetically pleasing as well.

“They need to do something, as planning permission could take a few months, or longer.

“It could do damage to people, or cars, coming past.”

Cllr Heseltine added that he had contacted Lidl about the boards after seeing them on the pavement on Saturday.

He added: “There has been a number of people commenting about it.

“We are still in poor weather territory. It needs to be sorted before it deteriorates any more.

“Why should Bradford Council pick the bill up?

“The hoardings that are up have gone past their sell-by date.”

Sainsbury’s bought the site in 2010 and paid for it to be cleared, but put it on the market five years later after ditching its own plans for a store.

Lidl said it will replace the hoardings at the site. 

A Lidl spokesman said: "Health and safety is of the upmost importance to us and we sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused. 

"Urgent repair works were undertaken as soon as we were made aware of the hoarding, and we are now in the process of replacing the original boards that were already in situ prior to purchasing the site. 

"We have been in continuous contact with Bradford Council on the matter and look forward to submitting a planning application for our new store in due course."