SEGRO Community Investment Plan

Local people in Northampton are set to benefit from investment in skills, employment, environmental and economic programmes, as part of a newly launched Community Investment Plan by SEGRO – the owner and developer of SEGRO Logistics Park Northampton.

The plan will be carried out in partnership with local charity partners Track NN and Groundwork Northamptonshire, as well as the main construction partner for SEGRO Logistics Park Northampton, Winvic Construction.

A range of projects will be undertaken with the aim of achieving the following outcomes by the end of 2025:

• 1,200 young people will be engaged through SEGRO’s Schools Work Programme
• 6 outdoor spaces will be reinvigorated to improve biodiversity and support community wellbeing
• 300 unemployed people will participate in bespoke skills, and training programmes

This year’s community environmental project took place in and around a council building in the centre of the Racecourse Park – a 115-hectare site in Northampton – in partnership with Groundwork Northamptonshire, who are passionate about creating a future where every neighbourhood is vibrant and green, and was strongly supported by West Northamptonshire Council and their Park Ranger Team.
The project supported local unemployed people recruited from the local area to support them in their pathway to employment. The volunteers developed horticultural, practical landscaping and ‘green’ construction skills, as well as teamworking, communication and safety skills. Participants also planted wildflowers and herbs, installed bug hotels and raised beds to promote biodiversity within the site.

The space will be used as a community focused food growing and educational facility by a number of local community groups and partner organisations, including the council Park Ranger Team, the Umbrella Fair organisation, Friends of the Racecourse and Northampton Mind.

The Northampton Community Investment Plan is a key element of the company’s Responsible SEGRO commitments to boost skills, training and employment, as well as enhancing the local environment and biodiversity in the communities where it operates across the UK and Continental Europe. This is one of ten plans being launched in 2022.

Andrew Pilsworth, Managing Director, National Logistics, at SEGRO, said:

“Community investment isn’t just nice to do, it’s about doing the right thing and wanting to make a real, long-term and positive impact on the communities in which we operate, especially for people and small businesses facing a range of challenges and barriers.

“SEGRO has put communities at the heart of its business for over a hundred years and through these plans we look forward to working with our inspirational local charity partners, suppliers and customers to deliver social, economic and environmental benefits for people in and around Northampton for many years to come.”

Kate Williams, Groundwork Northamptonshire CEO, said:

“We are pleased to see this fantastic new green space project that will go a long way to help the local community connect with nature as well as supporting people towards a career in the green jobs sector.

“We look forward to seeing the results of future projects to come from our exciting partnership with SEGRO.”

The Community Investment Plan is in addition to the company’s Community Development Fund of £375,000 to support the local parishes closest to the site for improvements to the public realm, nature conservation and the environment.

SEGRO Logistics Park Northampton will deliver up to 5 million sq ft of modern distribution space and a new rail freight terminal on a 35-acre site adjacent to Junction 15 of the M1, close to Northampton. The development, which will support over 7,000 jobs, also includes significant infrastructure improvement works, including a A508 bypass of Roade village, improvements to the A45 and M1 Junction 15 and extensive landscaping including new cycle routes and footpaths. Infrastructure and enabling works are underway, including major earthworks and site drainage to prepare development plateaus for the warehouse units.