As part of Waitrose’s long term expansion plan to double its online grocery orders in London by September 2020, SMR Architects were asked to reconfigure and fitout an existing 6 acre site located in Enfield, following the success of the previous Coulsdon South London fulfilment centre.

The scheme consisted of the refurbishment and reconfiguration of an existing 18,000 sq.ft. office space and 90,000 sq.ft Warehouse space. In addition, a purpose built 2,100 sq.ft. Vehicle Maintenance Unit and site works were constructed to provide 118 delivery vehicles, including EV Charging stations, all to suit Waitrose’s specific operational requirements.

SMR Architects were delighted to work on this new facility on behalf of Waitrose with UC Build. The facility will operate alongside the existing fulfilment centre in Coulsdon which delivers grocery orders across the South London area.

Due to the ambitious time frame and recent national events the project has had some challenges with the final development being well received by the client. Rob Large, Waitrose Construction Programme Manager commented

“The programme was ambitious from the start when we identified the site, the due diligence and pre-contract activity needed to progress at pace and the contractor selection was paramount to the can-do approach and success of the phased delivery; and now the C19 challenges! … Yet again the known and trusted team have pulled it out of the bag.”