Vaughan Moore & Mason Moore | 3 July 2022

A BRAND new occupant is to take on part of the former Lidl supermarket on Hawley Road, meaning takers have now been found for all three newly-created units.

E-cigarette retailer Best 4 E-Cigs, who already have existing locations in Hinckley and Burbage, are to take on part of the building, as first reported by Leicestershire Live.

They will join national gym operator The Gym Group and bathroom showroom Pochins in helping to occupy the once-vacant supermarket building once again.

Best 4 E-Cigs were quietly confirmed to be headed to Hawley Road in a marketing brochure put together by Bromwich Hardy which was uploaded to Rightmove.

Initially, Pochins and The Gym Group were going to be welcomed into the building alongside Formula One Autocentres, who were poised to take on one of the units.

But, plans for the vehicle MOT and autocentre fell through and were withdrawn by Beauford Commercial, who were handling their planning, on 25 May 2021.

The building has sat empty for three years, since June 2019, when Lidl re-located over to their newly-built premises on Coventry Road directly next door to Cadent.

Two months ago, the Gym Group added a listing for the Hinckley branch to their site, stating that they are ‘coming soon’ to the development. They listed all their prices and plans, and promised that it will be fitted out with “all the top kit”.

Pochins’ plans to take one of the retail units were made known in December 2020 when documents were registered on their behalf for a bathroom showroom in the former supermarket to Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council’s planning portal.

Pochins currently have an existing site on Hawley Road in close proximity to the former Lidl, but at the time of publication (Sunday, 3 July), they have not yet revealed to the Hinckley Free Press if it would be retained or closed.

No opening dates have been revealed for any of the occupants. But, contractors are hard at work transforming the former food store ready for its new lease of life.

It’s not just the old Lidl building that is to welcome a new shop specialising in e-cigarettes and vapes in Hinckley.

The former PDSA store on Castle Street in Hinckley town centre will soon see a new occupant named Tech Max and Vape Max move in, which sells phones, laptops and other technology, as well as disposable vapes, mods, and vape liquids.