The Yearsley Group will be moving forward with the detailed design of a new state-of the-art cold store in the city, following a successful planning application to Peterborough City Council.

Yearsley, who will be the first company to move on to the Gateway Peterborough site to the south of the city, will create 300 jobs for the local economy.

The UK’s largest cold storage and distribution company will be making a multi-million pound investment in Peterborough’s economy as part of the group’s national expansion.

As well as constructing a cold store for food items, Yearsley has selected the city as a new regional hub for the business.  This will mean that 80 of the new jobs will be office-based including distribution co-ordinators and business managers, working alongside 220 distribution and storage staff.

The planning permission, which was granted by the city council’s planning committee, was to vary the original consent for the Gateway Peterborough site which was gained in 2011.  The variation will allow Yearsley to build the cold store to a height of 35 metres so that the company can achieve maximum energy efficiency.

This change was vital to the viability of the overall scheme and without a positive decision Yearsley would have been unable to construct the store in Peterborough.  The taller building will have no impact on the floor space of the original proposal or make any increase in traffic generation.

Harry Yearsley, managing director of The Yearsley Group, who spoke at the committee meeting earlier today (Tuesday 18 December) said: “We are delighted to be expanding our business in a city that is focussed on growth.  We will be making a multi million pound investment in the city’s economy and will be creating a substantial number of new jobs.  Of course, that doesn’t include the dozens more who will be employed during the construction phase.

“For Yearsley, Gateway Peterborough is an ideal location given its proximity to the A1 and the A14 which gives us links north to south and east to west.  We hope to become a real part of the local community.”

Neil Darwin, chief executive of economic development company Opportunity Peterborough, said: “I’m delighted that The Yearsley Group has chosen to invest in Peterborough. Our fast growing city has excellent infrastructure connections, business networks and a work-ready talent pool, making us the ideal location for this forward-thinking company. Their investment will be a fantastic catalyst for the new Gateway Peterborough site and a welcome addition to the local economy.”

Gateway Peterborough has planning permission for more than 5 million sq ft of employment space.  These proposals are concerned with the design and appearance of the cold store and its internal layout.  The access and use for the site has already been approved.