Work underway
The 32,000m² Warrington parcel hub is one of three hubs we will build in the UK over five years. The hubs are part of an extension to our UK delivery network that will introduce a second daily delivery for next day parcels and larger items. The second delivery is expected to be fully operational by 2023. The hubs are part of our major, five-year UK ‘turnaround and grow’ plan.
Once operational, the Warrington hub – which is the size of 4.5 football pitches – will accommodate 370 employees and will have capacity to process more than 600,000 parcels per day. These will typically comprise items purchased from retailers the evening before, as well as larger parcels more suitable for van delivery.
Close to urban centres like Liverpool and Manchester, and to the warehousing and fulfilment centres of online retailers, the Warrington parcel hub is ideally-situated to support growth in UK e-retail, and - in particular – growing demand for next day delivery and the delivery of larger items. It will also significantly increase our capacity to process parcels at peak volumes.
Under the proposals, we plan to relocate our existing North West Distribution Centre (NWDC), currently in Mill Lane, to the new site which is 4.4 miles away. This is subject to an ongoing consultation with our people and unions. The Warrington mail processing centre will continue to operate from its existing site in Orion Boulevard in the meantime.
Simon Barker, National Process Operations Director said: “This significant commitment to the North West is just one example of how Royal Mail is changing to drive e-commerce growth across the UK. This new site - the first of three parcel hubs to be announced - alongside initiatives like accepting e-retail parcels into our network late in the evening, will help us to meet growing demand for next day delivery.
“We are talking to our unions and our people who work in and around Warrington about our proposals for the new site. We want to fully involve them in shaping our operations in the North West and helping us to provide high quality employment opportunities in our business.”
