SUPERMARKET chain Lidl prides itself on its green credentials say bosses.

Town and district councillor Karl Wallace asked about Lidl's ethical and environmental credentials saying he was disappointed to see no use of solar power or ways to garner rainwater or a wind generator on the plans.

But when asked about their environmental and ecological practices residents were told this was an important part of any new build store.

Development executive James Mitchell said all new stores were built with a building management system or "smart system" remotely controlling many of its operations.

He said lighting could never be left on inadvertently as sensors were used to determine whether people were in staff rooms.

As a large discounter' he said Lidl was also very conscious about cost so everything was done to minimise energy bills.

"This is fundamental," said Mr Mitchell.

The store will be fitted with 3.3m suspended ceilings to help insulate it, he said. The main building would be created out of poriton blocks with a different material on the outside for decoration which act like honeycombe and also help with insulation.

He said a rapid construction technique was also used, with some elements prefabricated, adding up to a shorter build time of just 16 weeks.

In store the general electrics would consist of soft start strip lighting to reduce energy requirements, and lighting in all staff areas was controlled by infra-red sensors.

If staff were working with no customers lighting was reduced to a third, he said, and when nobody was present and the security set all lights powered down to just emergency lighting with even chiller grills dropping automatically.

"We are ever evolving and trying to improve on every store we are building and looking to lessen impact and reduce energy," said Mr Mitchell.

Staff are looked after

BOSSES at Lidl have answered critics saying they work hard to create a good working relationship with their staff.

They were answering questions about their employment practices after media reports about staff conditions at some stores in Germany.

Regional director Douglas Ireland, for Lidl in the south west, said Lidl had 480 stores in the UK and over 7,000 across Europe. He said the recent concerns affected a maximum of 50 stores in northern Germany where managers had acted inappropriately through their use of CCTV when staff were not aware they were being filmed. He condemned the actions taken there.

Mr Ireland said: "Our operations in the UK are completely transparent. We do have CCTV in store for the reasons of security and safety of our staff. Our Weymouth store does have CCTV installed to specifications approved by the local licensing authority. There are no hidden cameras in any Lidl store in the UK. Our staff are not spied on or their privacy invaded.

"We recognise that our success is as a result of our team and we work together to achieve this. We pride ourselves in looking after our people."

He said benefits of Lidl workers included an above market rate of pay, excellent job security, excellent prospects for progression, and access to life insurance and a pension for people after 12 months.

The store is expected to create around 35 jobs with around 20-25 full time posts.

It's a question of 'quality not quantity'

QUALITY at a discount price is what Lidl has to offer Bridport says the firm.

Regional director Douglas Ireland said Lidl stocked just 1,200 lines to the usual 30-35,000 of most supermarket chains.

"It isn't possible to buy all your requirements at Lidl. And instead of having say 15 types of sweetcorn, we sell one type. It is a qualitative difference.

"Also because of our European position we have buying power to buy quality produce at low prices."

He said a significant per centage of the products were sourced in the UK, including museli from Dorset. He said the store would expect to do about 5,000 transactions a week.

"Our impact is small but one that would be appreciated by many people," he said. "We provide quality produce at a low price, sourced from the centre of excellence."

He said the firm also had a uniform pricing policy across the UK.

Among those to welcome the store was a supermarket worker.

She said: "I would love to see Lidl here to add a fourth dimension to the pricing we have got at the here at the moment."

She also said the supermarkets regularly went round to see what the others were charging and it would be good to have a store that had fixed low prices across the UK.