Firm's expansion bid crucial to remaining at site

A cold storage firm plans to make £80m upgrades to its warehouse in Wolverhampton and create almost 40 jobs.

Constellation Cold Logistics (CCL) has submitted a planning application to the council seeking to build a new 108,900 sq ft (101,00 sq m) cold store warehouse at its site on the Park Lane Industrial Estate.

The proposal, which would mean a 24-hour operation, would create 37 new jobs and double the storage capacity at the site to 40,000 pallets.

The planning application said the firm, described as Europe's "leading and second-largest provider of cold storage infrastructure", would be forced to move its facilities away from the city and withdraw its £80m plans if it was not approved.

CCL bought the site in 2023 and said it would need "significant investment", as it had last been upgraded 30 years ago and some of the buildings dated back to the 1950s.

A statement included with the application said: "Should the new cold store not be possible at Park Lane, all CCL investment stages set out will not proceed.

"The entire Park Lane facility is outdated and not fit for purpose. It was purchased by CCL on the value of land only, with the buildings assigned no value due to the need to imminently redevelop to retain functions and customers.

"CCL has explored alternative site options, however no other sites within the local area can offer the footprint required to deliver the development proposals."

The warehouse would be operational by summer 2027 if the application was approved, CCL said.

A previous planning application, which was submitted in October last year but had been withdrawn by December, had promised an estimated £90m investment, more new jobs as part of new and extended facilities that would have tripled the site's pallet storage to 600,000.

"Given the importance of the investment to the business, CCL has identified other opportunities within the Black Country where the investment could take place, however this would likely result in the need to relocate the entire campus due to the operational efficiencies of retaining all operations in close proximity – a scenario CCL is keen to avoid," the statement continued.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.

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