HGV drivers for an online retail giant’s new storage site in Alsager have been told to avoid main roads through the town centre.
Up to 30 jobs will be created at AO’s new 324,838sqft warehouse at the former Twyford’s site off Lawton Road, known as Alsager325.
AO had considered occupying one of the five vacant warehouses on Crewe Road, but instead chose the ex-Twyford’s location on the eastern side of town.
The company said that its new premises will be used to store excess stock rather than act as a delivery hub and that on a normal day, between four and 10 HGVs will visit the site.
AO lorries are often seen in the Crewe area heading to and from its two 360,000sqft warehouses on Weston Road.
Drivers using the new site in Alsager have been told to avoid the town centre’s Lawton Road and Crewe Road to reach junction 16 of the M6.
Instead, they will be routed to junction 17 at Sandbach. Lorries leaving the depot will turn right onto Crewe Road before heading up to the “Lawton lights” junction and turning left onto the A50 Knutsford Road/Newcastle and continue to Arclid before taking a left onto Congleton Road to junction 17, and vice versa.
Alsager town councillor Stephen Butterfield said: “When I heard that AO were coming to Alsager, I assumed it would be to the vacant warehousing on Crewe Road, but that is not the case.
“New employment in the area has got to be a good thing but congestion on the roads because of the lorries would be an issue, so that will have to be dealt with. They’ve got to make sure their vehicles do not overburden the busy roads in Alsager.”
AO said it chose Alsager325 as “it met our needs, due to proximity to transport links and other sites”.
The company said it had considered the Crewe Road warehousing development, still vacant almost five years since completion, but “they don’t suit our requirements”.
AO has signed a five-year lease on the new warehouse “to increase stock capacity and strengthen next-day delivery proposition for customers”.
The company’s website said: “Located near junctions 16 and 17 of the M6, the new facility is ideally positioned to support AO’s logistics network. By increasing its warehouse space, AO can hold more inventory across key product categories, reducing the risk of items going out of stock and improving availability during peak periods.”
David Ashwell, logistics MD at AO, added: “This facility at Alsager will play an important role in supporting AO.com’s continued growth strategy.
“The building’s scale, specification and excellent motorway access make it a strong operational fit with our North West warehouse space, as we continue to optimise our logistics network.”
AO said that “alongside improving availability and delivery performance”, the company “also looks forward to creating new job opportunities in the local area and becoming part of the Alsager community”.
(Photo: AO).
