The Lidl supermarket, based at the top of the High Street in Midsomer Norton is still actively looking for new home and in a sign of how big a share they now have of the food shopping market, the empty premises currently available locally are not big enough.

There have been rumours that since a gym company decided against moving into the former Argos store just a few doors down from the supermarket, this would be an obvious choice.

But Nub News has been led to understand that this is simply not big enough for them, or indeed the also-empty M&Co shop also in that part of the High Street which doesn't offer any parking.

So Lidl are still seeking a new bigger place.

Their requirements are over one hundred parking spaces and at least one and a half acres of land and a site area of 18,000 square feet, or 1,632 square metres. The company says they only expand into catchment areas of at least 20,000 people.

In July last year the Gym Limited put in a planning application in for a change of use of the old Argos site. That application, 22/03679/FUL, was given permission and that means that they have three years to start work, however we understand that the contract with the company has now been withdrawn. That also stated that they were going to reduce the size of the car park from 62 to 60 spaces, so another reason why 32 High Street would not tick the Lidl boxes.

Lidl continues to increase its market share as shoppers chose value brands in the cost of living crisis. According to the latest figures from retail analysts Kantar, Aldi's market share jumped to 10.1% in May, while Lidl's increased to 7.7%. Lidl only arrived in the UK in 1994 , now it has more than 800 stores and 13 regional distribution centres across Britain.