Matalan wins approval for Knowsley move
DISCOUNT retailer Matalan will quit its Skelmersdale base after winning planning approval for a new headquarters building in Knowsley.
The move, which will affect 1,200 staff, was first mooted in May. Knowsley Borough Council granted permission for a new 130,000 sq ft headquarters building on Thursday.
It will be built at Knowsley Industrial Park, as part of major regeneration of the former Petrolite site.
Matalan, which hopes to take its staff with it, is not expected to move until 2014. It previously said the move was “in line with growth plans over the next few years”. The new site will be the head office as well as a storage and distribution facility.
Cheadle Hulme-based Maro Developments is handling the scheme. Manchester-based architects, Fletcher Rae UK is the lead design consultant.
The approved planning application also includes a 100,000 sq ft extension to the neighbouring 500,000 sq ft Galaxy distribution facility.
Andrew Rae, managing director of Fletcher Rae, said: “We are really pleased to have been appointed by Maro Developments – a company that we have a long-standing working relationship with – as well as the opportunity to work on such a high-profile and prestigious project.
“The Matalan development further demonstrates our capabilities, and continued growth, in delivering large-scale commercial projects. This follows the completion, earlier this year, of a £14m specialist production facility in Derbyshire.”
The development is currently out to tender. The aim is to be on site in February 2013, with completion forecasted for late 2014.
