Why Hermes investment into Barnsley shows that logistics is now a cornerstone of the Yorkshire economy - Mark Casci

The rate of change in the modern world has made the casting of skin a rather regular occurrence of late.

Most of us will need to retrain at some stage in our career. I know with a fair degree of certainty that the professions my two daughters end up working in probably do not exist yet.

And there are few sectors evolving more rapidly than that of retail.

In the unlikely event that anyone believed that the online shopping world was showing any signs of slowing down then look at the news that Leeds-based Hermes is investing £60m into a 363,000 sq ft parcel distribution hub near Barnsley.

Along with the investment will be some 1,300 jobs created in the Barnsley area and the hub will be the largest of its kind in Europe.

The investment, while massive, is far from being an isolated incident. Indeed, investment into industrial and logistics infrastructure is booming.

Latest figures from Savills showed take-up in Yorkshire for 2019 has reached 6.66m sq ft, a 48 per cent rise above the long-term average.

The region, particularly South Yorkshire, is a dream come true for logistics operations. Access to decent quality land and excellent links to the motorway networks of the UK make it so – as does the fact that it is conveniently located in the centre of the country.

Hermes joining the party makes total sense. Already, the likes of the Verdion development in nearby Doncaster and the likes of Symmetry Park, are handling massive operations.

The Amazon fulfilment centres in Doncaster are incredibly busy operations. The new centre from Hermes promises to be no different.

Bosses say they believe the Barnsley site will be able to process 1.3 million parcels daily; boosting the company’s overall capacity to 3.8 million a day.

The investment is very much a sign of the times.

Every few weeks our pages feature stories on the troubling times that physical retail are having to endure.

Many big name retailers, once staples of every high street, have gone to the wall and they will not be the last.

The reasons for this decline are manifold and it would be lazy to attribute it entirely to the shift towards digital retail.

However the fact remains that, for the vast majority of households, the volume of goods that come into the home in brown cardboard boxes delivered by post or courier is increasing. On this matter I always mark the words of Asda CEO Roger Burnley, who once told me that while retail was not dying, boring retail was.

As footfall into our towns and cities declines there will, of course, be an impact on jobs. However, when you have the likes of Hermes creating 13,000 then you can hardly look at the world of online retail as being one which simply obliterates jobs.

As the sector evolves it will become more and more efficient and offer consumers ever-increasing levels of convenience. Those who bemoan the ‘death of the high street’ overstate the scale of the challenge facing the old school physical retail model.

But when the likes of Hermes are offering such high levels of serviceability, it is a sector that needs to urgently up its game.

Large chain stores with massive operational footprints are bound to struggle in the coming years. But the market and appetite for independent retail has arguably not been as healthy as it is currently for some years.

Meanwhile, for those who are concerned with the fate of the high street, there is a clear pathway for you to make a difference – visit it and buy goods from it.

A commitment from us all to helping the situation by shopping locally and physically is one that not only helps the economy. It helps safeguard a vital social connection point for so many people who desperately need it.

For many it may be their only chance of receiving a warm smile or a kind word.

You simply cannot get that it a brown cardboard box – no matter how quickly it is delivered to you.