Construction begins on new B&Q warehouse in Doncaster

Bassetlaw District Council deputy leader, Coun Jo White, and ward member for Blyth, Coun Jack Bowker, met members of B&Q’s senior team alongside site developer Tritax Symmetry and its parent company Tritax Big Box REIT, to view the scale of the 430,000 sq ft development at Symmetry Park in Doncaster.

Last month, Tritax Symmetry announced that it had agreed a deal with B&Q to design and build the new facility on the site which is located at Junction 34 of the A1 (M). The logistics developer has a long-standing relationship with B&Q and has been the landlord at B&Q’s national core products distribution centre in Worksop since 2005.

GMI Construction is the principal contractor for the new building, which is being built to net zero carbon, in line with Tritax Symmetry’s commitment to deliver all future buildings within its portfolio to this standard.

Rosemary Wilkins, Director of Logistics at B&Q said: “We are pleased to see great progress on site for the new B&Q seasonal warehouse and distribution centre at Symmetry Park. The new warehouse will allow us to get more of the most popular products to our stores, more quickly.

"It was good to meet with the council leadership as we seal our commitment to the district and its community. We hope to be able to open the site by the end of this year.”

Freddie Oakey, associate development director at Tritax Symmetry said: “We look forward to seeing further new jobs created and the added social impact through B&Q.

“Having a site with infrastructure already enabled and detailed planning consent in place allows us to provide a premium, bespoke and highly sustainable facility for B&Q to bolster its distribution network in this prime logistics location.”

Coun Jo White said: “We are delighted that B&Q has chosen Symmetry Park to expand and strengthen their operations in Bassetlaw, bringing with it greater investment and further employment opportunities.

“Throughout the development of this site, Bassetlaw District Council has worked in partnership with Tritax Symmetry and will continue to offer its support to the contractor GMI during the construction phase, and beyond with B&Q when the site becomes operational.

"It was great to strengthen our relationship with Tritax Symmetry, GMI and B&Q today and we look forward to providing further support with recruitment, apprenticeships, and other local initiatives that benefit the local community.”

Andrew Hurcomb, divisional managing director at GMI Construction, added: “Creating a positive impact on the local communities, through initiatives and most importantly, the people is paramount to everyone at GMI and we look forward to delivering the project and seeing it become a fantastic centre of Logistics for B&Q.”

Located on the North Nottinghamshire/South Yorkshire border, Symmetry Park is a major industrial and distribution scheme with detailed planning consent for 721,000 sq ft of logistics space. The scheme is home to luxury dog food supplier, Butternut Box, which took a 151,388 sq ft building on a 15-year lease in August 2020.

Roadside retail property business Euro-Garages has also expanded its options with the purchase of a 1.2-acre plot standing alongside its existing Starbucks and KFC outlets.

With detailed planning consent secured and full site infrastructure works in place, Tritax Symmetry can deliver a further unit of up to 140,000 sq ft in 36 weeks.

The Leeds offices of Savills, Dove Haigh Phillips and Colliers International are representing the development.