LIDL “is keen to move forward” with the building of a new supermarket in Rosyth which has “taken significantly longer than originally anticipated”.

The German firm want to open a store on Admiralty Road and create 40 jobs as part of an expansion programme in Scotland.

Fife Council granted planning permission in April 2018 and there were concerns that the project had grown stale as little has happened since then.

Earlier this summer, Lidl confirmed that building work would start this year and its planning agents are now looking at the finer details, with the latest move a request to tweak the plans.

An application seeks to reduce the number of parking spaces by four to 119 and to change the timings so a new junction and improvements to the A985 Admiralty Road are delivered before the store opens.

The current planning condition states the junction and road improvements should be installed before construction work on the store gets under way.

Hannah Mitchell, a senior planner with Rapleys, said the proposed changes were the result of ongoing discussions with Transport Scotland and Fife Council and added that, while “positive progress” had been made, “it has taken significantly longer than originally anticipated”.

She added: “Lidl is keen to move forward with the scheme soon in accordance with its construction programme, and the combined effect of this delay and the current requirement to deliver the junction works prior to commencement of the development has the potential to significantly impact on the store construction programme.

“As such, a pragmatic approach is to amend the delivery of the junction works to be completed prior to the occupation of the store.

“This will still ensure that the junction works are completed prior to the store becoming operational but will also allow construction of the store to occur in parallel.”

Lidl has outlined proposals to create up to 220 new jobs in Scotland over the next 12 months through four new store openings, one of which will be in Rosyth.

The possibility of the discount retailer opening here has been talked about for a decade but progress has been slow.

The derelict Yard pub has been flattened to make way for the Lidl store and Rosyth FC were forced to leave their Recreation Park ground after the land was sold to the developer by Fife Council.

Part of the deal was for a new grass pitch and facilities, including changing rooms, fencing and parking, to be provided for the club at the Fleet Grounds.

However, although Rosyth FC moved out two years ago, they have been left waiting on the promise of a new home to be fulfilled.

In February, the developer, MacTaggart and Mickel, applied for this condition to be removed, arguing that they shouldn’t have to deliver a replacement pitch as the club was already playing on the astroturf surface at the Fleet Grounds.

This application has still to be determined by the council, who are also looking at separate proposals that could see a replacement Inverkeithing High School built at the Fleet Grounds.