Pavers to look for new York offices after withdrawing application to expand HQ

Earlier this year, Pavers resubmitted two planning applications to expand its existing distribution and logistics centre and office accommodation at Northminster Business Park.

The plans were initially submitted last year, but were put on hold after the £10m warehouse expansion was refused by the council’s planning committee in November 2022.

The council said the arable and grazing land site was on green belt land, with further concerns over noise, lighting and sustainable transport.

This led the company to withdraw plans for a £9m office scheme on the site and to further threaten to pull out of York entirely.

However, Pavers submitted revised plans in June this year, saying that the investment would address the company’s critical need for a single, integrated operation.

The two separate planning applications said the company preferred to remain in York, where it was established more than 50 years ago.

However, it has become reliant on a number of remote, third-party storage solutions for over 600,000 pairs of shoes.

Pavers said this costs the business more than £3m a year and is not economical or sustainable for it to continue with its split-site operations.

In the company’s latest announcement, Pavers said that the existing office space at its headquarters continues to operate at capacity with a reliance on temporary accommodation at the site.

It added that that due to the uncertainty surrounding when, or if, its plans could be delivered and given its urgent need for suitable office accommodation, it had decided to withdraw its application related to the office expansion at the front of Catherine House.

Instead, it is exploring alternative office accommodation in York that meets the immediate needs of the business.

Pavers said this approach allowed it to address its immediate and short-term future needs for increased office space, as well as providing the scope and flexibility to review its long-term office requirements once an outcome has been determined on the distribution and logistics application.

In a statement, the company said: “Pavers looks forward to investing in its future in York, with the interim office space and proposed expansion plans for the existing distribution and logistics centre expected to bring an additional 130 skilled jobs to the city.”

The proposals for the distribution and logistics centre are expected to be heard by City of York Council in the coming months.

Established over 50 years ago, Pavers is a family-owned-and-run company that has grown from its York base to become one of the country’s leading footwear retailers with over 185 stores nationwide.

It was founded in 1971 by Catherine Paver who, at the age of 43, took out a £200 bank loan to start selling footwear at homeware parties.