Contractor lands £107.5m infrastructure deal
Work has started on the 450-acre SEGRO Logistics Park Northampton Gateway after Winvic was awarded a £107.5m contract to begin infrastructure works at the site.
When complete, the development will comprise 5m sq ft of industrial facilities and a Strategic Rail Freight Interchange (SRFI) and create around 7,500 jobs.
The project has been designated as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) and the infrastructure works include the 35-acre SRFI – capable of handling 16, 775m long trains a day – new rail connections and “significant” improvements to the road network. This work – incorporating major upgrades to Junctions 15 and 15a on the M1, a new bridge over the West Coast Mainline, the construction of a bypass around Roade, improvements to the A45 and safer junctions along the A508 – will be delivered by Winvic in partnership with Highways England, Network Rail and local authorities.
Winvic will undertake an extensive landscaping programme with over 80 acres of parkland and amenity grassland, 18km of footpaths and cycleways, 20km of hedgerows and the planting of 60,000 new trees. The first plots are scheduled to be ready for building construction to start in late 2021 and infrastructure works are anticipated to be completed by the end of 2023.
Rob Cook, civils and infrastructure director at Winvic, said: “SEGRO is a long-standing client of ours so we’re delighted to have won the SEGRO Logistics Park Northampton Gateway contract. Our partnership is a proven success on similar large-scale schemes – such as SEGRO Logistics Park East Midlands Gateway – and Winvic is therefore no stranger to delivering Strategic Rail Freight schemes and managing cross-agency liaison – such as coordinating with local authorities and Highways England to mitigate disruption.
“Apart from this being a significant and exciting project, it’s fantastic be working in the town where our head office is located and to be able to deliver a substantial local employment skills programme with SEGRO. The enabling works we have managed to date have been delivered to schedule and the team is now very much looking forward to the 2021 main infrastructure phase on the 450-acre Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project.”
