A NEW multi-million pound Lidl store has secured the go-ahead in Worcester - sparking supermarket wars in the city.

The retailer has been handed the green light to transform the run-down Archdales 73 club off Windermere Drive, Warndon, signalling the long-awaited regeneration of the site.

Lidl says the club will get a brand new community centre featuring a bar, lounge, top-notch skittle room and hall alongside an adult football pitch and changing rooms.

It came after 254 people signed a petition calling upon Lidl to get the nod.

The supermarket says the sports and recreational facilities, which have been backed by Sport England, will replace the current clubhouse which will be demolished for the new 2,400 square foot store.

It comes nearly a decade after Sainsbury's first unveiled proposals to develop a massive supermarket on the same site.

After mooching the plan in 2005, it eventually secured permission in 2009, but in the end decided to stay at its current location just 500 yards down the road in Windermere Drive.

Lidl, which will close its existing Blackpole Road outlet once the new one opens, says the new site will be bigger and more modern, with 40 jobs planned.

It will come with 145 parking spaces, 85 for Lidl and 60 for the clubs using the Archdales facilities, including the football teams.

It was approved by Worcester City Council's planning committee despite concern Lidl wants access to the new store to be off a new mini-roundabout in Blackpole Road.

Nearby resident Peter McTiernan, who turned up to object, said: "We are not against the plans, we are for it, but we are against the road plan.

"Blackpole Road is heavily congested."

Nick Hardy, the agent for Lidl, said: "This application has been a long process - it will significantly improve the sports facilities, drive up participation rates and offer a much better experience for Lidl customers.

"The new store will be bigger, more efficient and more modern - the existing store is successful but we want a much improved offer."

During a vote it was backed 9-2, with only Tory Councillor Derek Prodger and Labour's Roger Berry going against.

Councillor Jo Hodges said: "The Archdales 73 club is quite a dilapidated building, it's an eyesore and I would say, unusable.

"We waited a long time for Sainsbury's but that was different, that would have been a land swap (with Archdales).

"This will be a very good development, the fact it retains all those sports facilities is great."

It will operate from 8am-9pm Monday to Saturday and 10am-6pm on Sundays and Bank Holidays, and is expected to open in mid-2015.