Planning secured for 46m high cold store facility

The development is expected to create a further 300 jobs at the site, including warehousing, engineering and apprenticeship opportunities.

A key element of the development plans is the creation of a new cold storage facility totalling 23,648 sq m within the existing site where four warehouse units were previously lost to fire in 2013. 

This high bay unit will stand at 46m tall and provide capacity for circa 60,000 pallets at -28 degrees Celsius.

The plans also include site wide improvements, such as the demolition of an office block; erection of a new vehicle maintenance unit, fuel island and vehicle wash area, alterations to vehicular access, internal access road, car park extension, and associated landscaping.

The investment plans will generate up to £16.7m GVA to the location economy and will enable XPO Logistics, to modernise its existing operations onsite through new technology and automation and provide some of the additional capacity required by its customers.

In addition, the design of the scheme has been carefully considered to ensure the development addresses other challenges with the existing site layout, particularly the access and parking arrangements.The development plans will provide new access and parking arrangements for the site, including a new gatehouse located further into the site preventing backing up of vehicles onto Burton Lane, a new ‘one way’ internal road to improve flows within the site, a new car park creating 263 spaces, trailer parking for 60 trailers/9 tractors and localised widening of Burton Lane.