Lidl plans £70m distribution centre in Doncaster with 500 jobs

PLANS by the German budget supermarket Lidl for a major distribution centre in Doncaster are expected to create 500 jobs in the district.
The iport side of the planned Lidl distribution baseThe iport side of the planned Lidl distribution base
The iport side of the planned Lidl distribution base

Lidl has confirmed that it plans to open a new distribution centre at the iPort in Rossington, a £500 million logistics development.

The confirmation comes six months after we revealed that proposals for a Lidl base had been discussed.

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The firm says that the announcement of the new £70 million warehouse marks a milestone in the supermarket’s expansion plans within the UK, and follows the opening of Lidl’s newest regional distribution centre in Southampton earlier this month, which created more than 400 new jobs.

The supermarket will occupy 628,000 sq ft on a 35-acre plot within Phase One of the 6 million sq ft logistics scheme.

Adrienne Howells, Lidl UK’s Head of Warehouse Expansion, commented: “With more British customers choosing Lidl as their family supermarket we are laser focused on the sustainable growth of our business. We are, therefore, thrilled to be in a position to confirm our 13th distrubution centre in Great Britain, bringing investment to Doncaster, new jobs and additional support to our existing and future stores in the north of England.”

Michael Hughes, chief executive of Verdion, the firm developing the iPort, said: “We are delighted to announce this significant signing to another well-known name at iPort. Lidl is a strong operator with great confidence in the region, bringing with it many new job opportunities for Doncaster and the surrounding areas.”

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Lidl will join Fellowes, Amazon and CEVA who have also taken space at iPort within Phase One. Over 2 million sq ft has now been committed.

The supermarket, which opened its first British based store in 1994, currently has warehouses in 10 other locations up and down the country, including Northfleet, Enfield, Belvedere, Livingston, Weston-Super-Mare, Lutterworth, Newton Aycliffe, Runcorn, Bridgend and Southampton.

Earlier in the year the grocer announced that it would be relocating its warehouses in Weston-Super-Mare and Livingston to Bristol and Eurocentral respectively, as well as opening two new warehouses in Wednesbury and Exeter as well as expanding its RDCs in Newton Aycliffe and Runcorn.

A Planning Application for Lidl’s new warehouse and office space has been submitted, with construction expected to start in 2017.

We revealed talks were being held with Lidl in June.