Residents in east Cambridgeshire are calling out for a new discount supermarket after Lidl announced plans to branch out across the county.

The discounters have earmarked locations in Ely and Soham, as well as Newmarket and Cambridge, amid plans to build 1,000 new stores.

Following our report yesterday, residents have got in touch are calling for Ely and the surrounding area to “modernise” in a bid to “attract custom”.

“Maybe a Lidl, B&M all up Angel Drove in Ely, just off the new bypass like some plans have already shown, just get on with it,” said one eager resident.

Another said: “Lidl, B&M and Home Bargains, we need them all so we don't have to travel so far.

“Come on Ely, modernise yourself up and attract custom... people will always travel miles to see the cathedral before anyone moans.”

One Soham resident said: “[Lidl] would be great in Soham, you can’t always get what you want in Asda all the time.”

The news of Lidl’s expansion across East Anglia comes after its direct rival, Aldi, announced a whole host of new stores across the region.

One Ely resident said it would “be nice to have both”. “We’ve been trying to get to an Ely Lidl for years, they kept getting rejected but Aldi got in.”

What do you think? Would east Cambridgeshire benefit from a new Lidl supermarket? Does the region have to “modernise” itself? Email: harry.rutter@archant.co.uk