British bakery chain Greggs and property developer Tritax Symmetry have submitted plans for a new national distribution centre at Symmetry Park, Kettering in Northamptonshire.
The planning application details proposals for 311,551ft² of logistics space on a 25.1-acre plot. According to Tritax Symmetry, the unit will be designed to a BREEAM ‘Very Good’ standard, achieving an EPC A rating and meeting net zero carbon in construction requirements.
The decision is part of a wider strategy announced by the food retailer in 2021, which ‘set out ambitious expansion targets requiring investment in significant supply chain capacity’.
It follows the news that Greggs has invested in constructing a ‘state-of-the-art frozen production and logistics facility’ in Derby, in an effort to bolster its supply chain.
Greggs currently has 2,500 shops and its longer-term growth plans target an estate of significantly more than 3,000 shops in the UK, so it is hoped that the new national distribution centre in Kettering will ‘bolster its capacity to directly supply ambient and chilled products to a growing portfolio of shops’.
Tritax Symmetry has confirmed that it is also seeking planning permission for an additional 100,000ft² to enable Greggs to expand the site further.
Subject to planning, Greggs expects its national distribution centre at Symmetry Park, Kettering, to be operational in the first half of 2027.
Greggs will join Iron Mountain at Symmetry Park, Kettering, following the completion of a 313,000ft² unit in 2023 that Iron Mountain is currently occupying as part of a 15-year lease.
