Online supermarket Ocado has been given the green light to open a new delivery and distribution warehouse off the A453 in Nottinghamshire.
The retailer, which runs a website through which customers order groceries for home delivery, will open the facility in an existing vacant warehouse on the new Fairham Business Park.
The facility sits off the busy road, near the new 3,000-home Fairham Pastures housing estate.
According to planning documents submitted to Rushcliffe Borough Council, the company will employ up to 422 people.
This includes 358 van drivers, 24 marshallers, 17 office staff members and five maintenance workers.
The facility will operate 24/7.
GeraldEve, a property consultancy firm working on behalf of Ocado, said: “Since the Covid-19 pandemic, distribution has become a crucial part of the UK’s infrastructure.
“While the sector was already on the rise, due to increased demand for online shopping, the pandemic has accelerated the demand for online shopping and highlighted the importance of being able to access groceries and essential items via the internet and it is clear this trend has continued on an upward trajectory in the years after the pandemic.
“Ocado has identified this area of Nottingham as … where the demand for goods is high, yet the existing availability of distribution hubs is low, which ultimately affects the service Ocado can provide to the customer and results in long wait times for groceries.
“The objective of Ocado is to occupy this unit, and serve the wider Nottingham area, providing an essential service for residents.”
Ocado will operate the warehouse as a delivery and distribution facility, and will be installing fuel pumps, new fences, gates, a smoking shelter, lifts and a docking area.
New cladding, a vehicle washing area and CCTV will also be added to the site.
Rushcliffe Borough Council’s planners add: “The proposed amendments to the unit would not impact on the neighbours’ amenity and the proposed works are considered to have an acceptable impact on biodiversity, habitats, highway safety, drainage and archaeology.
“Furthermore, the proposal is not considered to be visually harmful to the character of the surrounding area in the medium to long term, although it is acknowledged that the initial development, until the landscaping matures and the commercial development surrounding it is constructed, will appear slightly stark in this isolated part of the site.
“Nevertheless, subject to the conditions proposed the application is considered to accord with the policies in the development plan and is recommended for conditional approval.”
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