Corby to become home to Europe's biggest deep freeze as work set to start in autumn

The biggest cold storage warehouse in Europe is being planned for a Corby industrial estate.

Dutch company NewCold already operates on three continents and has chosen Corby for its biggest European facility because of its location at the centre of the 'golden triangle' of logistics.

The two-storey development willl be the size of eight football pitches.

An application is currently with planners and, if it is passed, it is hoped that work on the Curver Way site will start on October 2 with the first pallets going through the doors a year later in 2021.

The 59,000m2 building will stand at 43m at its tallest point - Corby's Grosvenor House is just 34m - and the main warehouse will be 'fully automated' with palletised food products entering and leaving the warehouse via storage and picking machines.

There will also be about 153 staff members on site to carry out office functions as well as re-packing of goods for some customers. There will also be HGV driver positions created and the firm says it will employ all its own staff rather than use an agency. A continental shift system will be in operation.

In planning documents the firm says: "NewCold would be responsible for the direct appointment of all staff.

"NewCold have an enviable track record of employing, training and retaining staff in their facilities as is demonstrated in their existing facility in Wakefield. NewCold are committed to the ongoing training of staff so that all non-office based staff are trained to become multi-skilled operatives with the ability to fulfil a variety of roles within the warehouse."

It is estimated that there will be about 169 vehicle trips into the site per day and traffic will use an entrance in Curver Way. The firm says it will make moderations to the A6116 Steel Road / Birchington Road junction and at the A43 / A6116 roundabout.

Northants Highways have said they cannot support the proposals because they believe the estimated number of employees is lower compared to industry average on this kind of development and that there is not enough parking on site for the number of employees that will actually be needed.

The site was former industrial land and asbestos fibres as well as phytoxic metals including zinc, copper and nickel have been found in soil samples on the site. The developers say will be mitigated by hard standing across the site.

Planning documents also state there is standing water that has been impacted by hydrocarbons - the site was formerly used for the storage of fuel - which will be removed prior to development.

A press statement from NewCold country director Jon Miles says the proposal is "in response to continued demand from the food manufacturing sector".

He goes on: "The Corby facility sits on a 23-acre plot which is a prime location in the logistics ‘golden triangle’, with proximity to frozen distribution centres of large retail and food service customers and will enable NewCold to help their customers reduce food miles and cut costs.

“Since opening our first UK site in Wakefield five years ago, we have seen an increase in demand for our warehouse and transport services of over 150 per cent and although the Wakefield plant is the largest of its kind in the country, handling 4,000,000 pallets annually and storing 143,000 at any given time, demand has outstripped supply.

“Furthermore with a focus on sustainability at both the Wakefield and Corby sites, our unique cold store design – which uses around 50 per cent less energy than conventional stores – coupled with our ability to reduce food miles by using high-volume trailers, will greatly reduce CO2 emissions and energy use.”

NewCold say they are already speaking to high volume potential customers, to add to their list of high-profile Wakefield customers, including McCain, Aunt Bessie, Birds Eye, Froneri, Finsbury, and Grupo Bimbo.

Jon added: “The decision to build a second facility has been driven by an increasing wide-scale demand for storage and handling, while the number of deep-frozen storage facilities has reduced. This has seen cold stores at capacity during certain times over the last two years and the trend appears to be continuing, so we feel this is the right time to invest.”

NewCold has 800 employees worldwide and operates eight locations on three continents.