Next Distribution Warehouse

A new Next Distribution Warehouse is set to be built in Doncaster. The main contract was awarded to Bowmer and Kirkland and the site will include a 60,000 square metre distribution warehouse, as well as a four-storey 8,500 square metre office building. The two structures will be connected via a raised link bridge.

Billington Structures will provide approximately 5,000 tonnes of structural steel for this project, including portal frames and stability bracing, which is designed to split the warehouse into five separate compartments. This is to ensure that the building remains operational in the event of a fire in one of the compartments. Stability bracing also rendered the internal mezzanine floors independent of the main building, enabling them to accommodate a complex system of tracks for an automated handling system.

The Next distribution warehouse in Doncaster will be used by Next’s home furniture division, so it required high bay housing. In addition to separate compartments, some of the different areas contained high level, mezzanine floors to accommodate the automation production distribution and remote picking systems operated by Next.

The office space and related amenities will be used to house a new call centre for Next’s online operations. In a first for the UK, vehicle handling cranes were installed to unload, store and reload the next vehicle fleet without the need for traditional dock leveller techniques.

The warehouse will be built in South Elmsall to meet the needs of Next’s growing online operations and it will be accessed from the A638 Doncaster Road. The project also includes a package of highways and access improvements, including a new roundabout junction on the A638. There will also be significant cut and fill earthworks to create a level plateau for the building.