Supermarket giant Lidl to launch operations today at £70 million regional distribution centre in Peterborough

And the food giant has announced that it will be recruiting 50 staff this year to take the number of staff working at the hub at Peterborough Gateway, in Alwalton Hill to 400.

The Regional Distribution Centre forms part of Lidl’s commitment to invest £1.45 billion in Great Britain over two years.

The 45,000 square metre centre, which is the equivalent of more than eight football pitches, will replace an existing smaller warehouse at Lutterworth, which will continue to operate as a non-food warehouse, and will strengthen Lidl’s infrastructure across the region.

A spokesman said: “Through the hard work and dedication of Lidl colleagues, the Peterborough warehouse will open on schedule, despite the impact of Covid-19 on the wider economy.

“Lidl’s wider warehouse expansion plans are also continuing, with new distribution centres planned for Luton and Bolton, along with the expansion of its existing warehouses in Belvedere and Bridgend.”

The opening comes as Lidl confirms plans to open 100 new stores across Great Britain throughout 2021 and 2022, and marks the latest in Lidl’s rapid expansion plan, as the discounter continues to invest in its GB infrastructure.

Lidl GB Chief Operations Officer Matthew Heslop said: “As a supermarket it has been our priority over the past months to ensure that the communities we serve continue to have access to much needed food supplies and essentials.

“This is very much still our focus, and with the addition of our new Peterborough distribution centre, we are further strengthening our logistics and operations to ensure that we can continue to serve as many customers as possible with quality food at Lidl prices.”

Stephen Hutchinson, Lidl Regional Director for Peterborough, said: “I am immensely proud of all of our colleagues that have worked tirelessly to ensure this warehouse can open on time.

“Keeping on track with the build, and the preparations to go operational under these exceptional circumstances, has only been possible because of their hard work and we are incredibly grateful to everyone that has been involved.”

Strategically located next to the A1(M), the warehouse will initially serve 48 stores and will use a natural refrigerant system, which heats and cools the entire building, along with solar panels that will generate 10% of the total electricity required by the building.

Lidl team members at the new centre will benefit from a competitive starting salary of £9.30 per hour, which matches the voluntary living wage rates and is higher than the Government’s “National Living Wage“ making Lidl employees some of the highest paid in the supermarket sector.

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