Work on the fit out of Royal Mail's new north west parcel hub has started.
Once operational, the Warrington hub, which is the size of 4.5 football pitches, will be able to process more than 600,000 parcels per day and signifies its 'commitment to the Northern Powerhouse' region.
The parcels arriving at the hub will typically comprise items purchased from retailers the evening before, as well as larger parcels more suitable for van delivery.
Close to urban centres like Liverpool and Manchester, the 32,000m Warrington parcel hub is one of three it will build in the 海角视频 over five years.
The investment builds on the 海角视频's growing ecommerce market and in particular growing demand for next day delivery and the delivery of larger items.
It will also significantly increase Royal Mail’s capacity to process mail at peak volumes.
Royal Mail said its commitment to a 15-year lease, and fitting out the site’s state-of-the art operation, represents significant expenditure to maintain its presence in the north west.
Under the proposals, Royal Mail plans to relocate its existing North West Distribution Centre (NWDC), currently in Mill Lane, to the new site which is 4.4 miles away.
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This is subject to an ongoing consultation with Royal Mail’s people and unions.
The Warrington mail processing centre will continue to operate from its existing site in Orion Boulevard.
Simon Barker, national operations director at Royal Mail said: “This significant commitment to the north west is just one example of how Royal Mail is changing to drive e-commerce growth across the 海角视频.
“This new site - the first of three parcel hubs to be announced - alongside initiatives like accepting e-retail parcels into our network late in the evening, will help us to meet growing demand for next day delivery.
“We are talking to our people who work in and around Warrington and our unions about our proposals for the new site.
"We want to fully involve them in shaping our operations in the North West and helping us to safeguard high quality employment opportunities in our business.”