New M&S centre reaches for the sky (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Bradford project gets under way

7:00am Wednesday 22nd July 2009 in News By Jo Winrow

Construction work has begun in earnest on a multi-million pound Marks & Spencer distribution centre which is expected to create thousands of jobs when it opens in Bradford next year.

US-based developer ProLogis is building a 90-acre business park on the site of the former West Bowling Golf Club, off Rooley Lane.

A one million sq ft building is being developed for the retail giant and steelwork has now gone up on site.

The business park is next to the M606 motorway and when it was first announced in 2007 the project was expected to lead to 2,500 jobs at the M&S centre, as well as an extra 500 to 1,000 jobs across the remainder of the site.

ProLogis expects to complete work on the building, which will also house office space, training rooms, onsite catering and staff facilities, in spring next year.

M&S then hopes to open its new distribution centre by late 2010.

“I am delighted that this flagship project for ProLogis in the UK is now in progress at Bradford,” said Andrew Griffiths, managing director for ProLogis in the UK.

“We will deliver both the environmental and operational requirements to meet Marks & Spencer’s needs.”

Bradford Council’s executive member for regeneration, Councillor Adrian Naylor, said: “ProLogis and Marks & Spencer have identified Bradford’s potential by locating the distribution site here, thereby attracting other, large-scale companies to both invest and locate operations within the district.”

The warehouse is being constructed to achieve an excellent rating for sustainable development and environmental performance. And providing the steel frame for the distribution centre has provided a major boost for a Bradford company during the recession which has hit the construction industry hard.

More than 3,000 tonnes of steel framework for the project has been designed, processed and prepared only a mile away from the Pro Logis site by Barrett Steel Buildings Ltd on Cutler Heights Lane.

Produced in the UK by Corus, the steel was sourced through BSB’s neighbouring company, steel stockholder Barrett Steel.

Engineers from BSB moved onto the Rooley Lane site two weeks ago and the steel frame should be completed in another ten weeks.

The distribution centre is one of the first major projects within a wider plan to regenerate the Leeds-Bradford corridor.