A MAJOR discount supermarket will be expanding its presence across Dorset.

Supermarket retailer Lidl plans to double its portfolio and continue its "phenomenal growth".

The German chain is now looking for "great quality locations" to open new stores.

Lidl has revealed locations where it is particularly interested in opening more supermarkets.

It requires prominent edge of centre or out of town locations, with "easy access" and strong pedestrian or traffic flow.

In Bournemouth, Lidl hopes to open a store in Kinson while relocating its branches in Richmond Gardens Shopping Centre and Boscombe's Sovereign Shopping Centre.

Away from the town, it also wants to introduce new stores in Poole, Swanage, Wimborne, and Lymington.

As previously reported Lidl has been given the go-ahead to open a store less than 200m away from Asda in Bournemouth.

BCP Council has given the firm permission to remove a condition on the former Office Outlet premises in Holdenhurst Road which banned the sale of food.

The move paves the way for it to convert the unit into a supermarket which the firm said it hoped to do at the “earliest opportunity”.

Lidl said the new store would serve the growing number of students living nearby and also create 40 jobs – five full-time and 35 part-time.

“The proposed store will be well placed to serve the substantial residential areas to the north and east as well as the significant numbers of new, purpose-built student accommodation that has been, and is being, developed close by,” a statement by consultancy RPS Group on its behalf said.

While in Christchurch the chain is set to take over part of the Homebase unit at the Bailey Bridge Retail Park off Barrack Road, pending planning approval.

The DIY group has applied to BCP Council to divide its building in two with Lidl taking about a third of the unit’s space.

Discussing the wider expansion plans, a Lidl spokesman said: "As part of ongoing national expansion plans, our dedicated property teams are working hard to identify suitable locations across England, Scotland and Wales. This is for both new stores where there is demand for a Lidl, and existing stores that we would like to remodel for customers, which may require a relocation to do so. We would encourage any landowners or agents who may be aware of suitable sites, to get in touch with our property teams to discuss.”