Green light for IKEA to open click and collect service in Peterborough

The Swedish furniture chain wants to create the service at its distribution centre at Kingston Park, off Fletton Parkway.

The popular flat-pack behemoth has been given the go ahead by Peterborough City Council planners to change the design of its warehouse to make room for the customer click and collect facility.

The new depot will be part of a larger extension of IKEA’s distribution centre, which it has operated for 15 years.

The application document submitted to the council states: “The development will result in the provision of additional jobs and further establish IKEA’s commitment to the Peterborough facility and wider area.”

The Click and Collect hub will occupy an area of 490sqm with a height of nine metres containing the storage racking. There will be an office for staff to manage the service.

It will be part of a 54,315sqm extension to the existing distribution centre and means the entire warehouse and offices will total 140,965sqm

The click and collect service will have a dedicated service access and 32 car parking spaces. IKEA will also increase the size of its offices from a single storey building to three storeys.

The distribution centre has 426 car parking bays and 374 HGV bays.

The retailer has been told by planners that it must clearly mark which bays are to be used by click and collect customers and those that are set aside for staff at the distribution centre.

A spokesperson for IKEA said: “We have been in site for 15 years and need to expand.

“But the expansion must include changes to align with IKEA’s new business model, which has been adapted over time to suit the evolving retail climate.

“As part of the changing nature of retail and the evolution of online shopping, IKEA has developed a click and collection solution for customers to pick-up their orders from the distribution centre.”

News of IKEA’s plans, which were unveiled several weeks ago, were received with delight by many Peterborough people who currently have to travel to Milton Keynes to reach the nearest IKEA store.