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Winvic’s mammoth logistics park crosses finish line amid industry accolades
Rod Sweet Global Construction Review
Plugged into national rail and motorway networks, Segro Logistics Park Northampton will eventually have up to 5 million sq ft of industrial and logistics space. Image: Winvic.
After a five-year programme of works, Winvic Construction has completed civil engineering and two warehouses at Segro Logistics Park Northampton, a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project and one of the UK’s biggest rail-connected logistics hubs.
The project has won industry accolades and is the first logistics park to achieve net-zero carbon in construction, independently verified under the UKGBC 2019 Definition Framework.
It involved building a 2.6km bypass – with bridge and roundabout – for the village of Roade. This element was highly commended at the 2024 Civil Engineering Contractors Association Awards for its complexity and collaborative delivery, and was shortlisted for the Major Project Award at the 2024 Highways Awards.
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Winvic also carried out major improvements to Junction 15 of the M1 to make the park accessible to the national motorway network. This required complex traffic management and a phased delivery.
Further works included the site’s Strategic Rail Freight Interchange with its 35-acre rail terminal and a 55,000 sq m intermodal and HGV slab. The slab comprises 38,000 sq m of intermodal hardstanding and a 17,000 sq m HGV area for container handling.
Winvic also built a 170m-long tunnel shielding trains entering and exiting the terminal.
For buildings, Winvic erected a 2.3 million sq ft distribution facility for a major online retailer and a 1.2 million sq ft distribution centre for Yusen Logistics.
The latter is the first operational building at the park. It has a 1.14 million sq ft ground-floor warehouse and a 333,251 sq ft mezzanine. As well as net zero in construction, it achieved BREEAM Excellent and EPC A ratings.
Community engagement
Located four miles south of Northampton town centre, the logistics park will eventually have up to 5 million sq ft of industrial and logistics space and is expected to create around 7,450 jobs.
In line with the requirements of its Development Consent Order, the project established an employment and skills forum and a community liaison group to promote local employment and training.
Winvic and its supply chain provided 42 apprentice, year-in-industry and work-experience placements, employed 793 local people, and procured some £60m in services from local subcontractors.
The project team also donated time and resources to 13 community initiatives and delivered 26 educational activities including employer talks, careers fairs and site visits.
Winvic also launched its STEM after-school club, giving seven sessions for 32 Year 7-10 students at Northampton Academy.
Carbon reduction measures
Carbon performance was tracked throughout construction. Material hotspots including earthworks, in-situ concrete, roads and pavings, and rail track infrastructure were identified, monitored and targeted for reduction up to practical completion.
Carbon reduction measures included reusing material in earthworks, replacing 30% of cement in rail slabs with pulverised fly ash and achieving 20% recycled content within the rail track itself.
Rob Cook, Winvic managing director for civils and infrastructure, said: “This has been a highly complex and nationally significant project, involving major highways improvements, strategic rail infrastructure and extensive enabling works, all delivered in live operational environments and alongside the ongoing development of the wider park, while carefully minimising disruption to ongoing operations and the surrounding area.”
