New Waitrose ‘warehouse’ in Peterborough creating 60 jobs gets go ahead

The supermarket chain submitted plans for a new “small building” during lockdown after seeing a huge rise in grocery deliveries and collections, with the promise of 60 permanent jobs if the go ahead was given.

And it can now progress with the scheme at its store near the railway station after receiving planning approval from Peterborough City Council.

The new facility - which will allow Waitrose to “significantly increase” the number of online deliveries it can make - will be situated in the service yard which in turn will extend into the existing customer car park, reducing the number of spaces.

However, there will be an increase in the number of parking spaces in the service yard itself.

After submitting the planning application, a Waitrose spokesperson told the Peterborough Telegraph in April: “We have already increased the availability of grocery delivery slots and collections by 50 per cent in the last month to help our Peterborough customers get the food and essentials they need during these challenging times.

“The application for a small building and additional parking spaces for our vans within the service yard would mean we could significantly increase the number of online deliveries we are able to make from later this year.”

Waitrose has been contacted to find out when works are expected to begin and finish.

Planning permission for the new ‘warehouse’ follows Aldi receiving the go ahead for a new store at Peterborough One Retail Park, while Sainsbury’s is looking to create a click and collect facility at its store in Oxney Road to meet the demand for online buying.

The two schemes combined would create 80 new jobs.

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