Warehouse plan at Easton promises 300 more jobs

A £67.1 million scheme to build a 23,648 square metre warehouse within the XPO Logistics site at Easton promises to create 300 jobs.

An economic impact assessment also claims that a maximum of 230 construction jobs will also be created during its two years of building work.

The development would also help safeguard 550 jobs already employed on the site, which may move should the scheme not be approved.

Last week, London property management company iSec submitted its application for the former Christian Salveson site at Burton Lane, Easton.

The scheme would include demolishing an existing office block and erecting a 23,648sqm warehouse, with plant room, vehicle maintenance unit, fuel island, vehicle wash area, alterations to vehicle access, extra car parking and associated landscaping.

The site is currently a vacant area of hardstanding and existing storage facility which was used as a cold store until it was destroyed by fire in 2013.

An economic impact assessment said the proposal is within the existing XPO Logistics site, which covers 10.7ha and contains offices and warehouses providing storage for 45,000 pallets containing frozen food products.

Some 250 work at the site, with 300 more at McCain Foods nearby, which uses some of the XPO storage space.

The planned steel portal frame cold store would contain 60,000 pallets to store and distribute predominantly frozen food products. It would need four hectares of brownfield land and cover the same site as the previous building that burnt down in 2013.

The report said some 219 warehouse jobs would be created, plus jobs for 60 drivers, eight skilled engineers and ten managers. There would also be a maximum 230 jobs during the two year construction.

XPO has 173 suppliers and the scheme would give the South Kesteven economy a £16.7 million annual boost.

It concluded the expansion would “secure XPO Logistics’ continued presence at the site for approximately 25 years.”

“In other words, without the new facility, there is a strong chance that XPO would relocate outside the area and thus the considerable economic benefits (as well as much-needed employment) would be lost.”