DISCOUNT supermarket chain Lidl look set to open a store in Finnieston.

The company has applied for an alcohol off-sales licence for empty retail premises at 30 Finnieston Street. The unit was last used a Staples Office Outlet.

Earlier this year planning permission was renewed allowing the building to be used for unrestricted retail, including the sale of food, although no operator for the site was identified.

A report by Glasgow City planners at the time pointed out that the nearest medium-sized food supermarkets were some distance away in the City Centre and in Partick/Byres Road.

They felt there was a need for such a store to serve the communities immediately to the west of the City Centre, even more so with the expansion of student accommodation along with recent and planned housing provision in the area.

The Lidl alcohol application has still to go through the city’s licensing process.