Royal Mail begins work on automated warehouse in Warrington

UK postal carrier Royal Mail has announced plans for a new automated warehouse in the north west of the UK.

The new hub will be able to process over 600,000 parcels per day, primarily supporting next-day deliveries and larger parcels.

Royal Mail said it will relocate its existing distribution centre for the north west, located in Mill Lane, to the new site 4.4 miles away.  This is subject to a consultation with workers and unions.

The postal giant has signed a 15-year lease for the site.

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 ecommerce growth across the UK.

“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.”

The hub is the first of three new fully automated sites which will help it to support a new second daily delivery slot by 2023.