Burton’s Palletforce SuperHub is in the running to house the off-site construction for Heathrow Airport’s third runway scheme which promises to create thousands of jobs across the Midlands.

A delegation from Heathrow has visited Amalga Limited’s Palletforce SuperHub, one of nine longlisted sites in the region, as part of a nationwide tour of 65 sites competing to be offsite construction centres for Heathrow expansion.

The SuperHub was officially opened in October, last year, by Princess Anne, on a site at Centrum 100 in Burton.

The final four logistics hubs chosen will help ensure that businesses across the UK will form part of the airport’s supply chain. Components of the airport will be pre-assembled at the hubs before being transported to the construction site.

HRH Princess Anne visiting Burton on Trent, to officially open the new PalletForce Super Hub on Centrum 100
Vintage transport vehicle alongside the trailer of one of the new vehicles
HRH Princess Anne visiting Burton on Trent, to officially open the new PalletForce Super Hub on Centrum 100 Vintage transport vehicle alongside the trailer of one of the new vehicles

In total, the Heathrow expansion is set to deliver 21,800 new jobs and £23 billion worth of wider economic benefits across the Midlands as well as improve connectivity to create better, faster connections between the Midlands and the airport.

The nationwide tour of the longlisted Logistics Hubs sites is another milestone in the delivery of Heathrow expansion, ahead of an expected Parliamentary vote on the policy framework in the first half of this year.

HRH Princess Anne visiting Burton on Trent, to officially open the new Pallet Force Super Hub on Centrum 100
Talking to Kate Lovatt - Software Development Manager
HRH Princess Anne visiting Burton on Trent, to officially open the new Pallet Force Super Hub on Centrum 100 Talking to Kate Lovatt - Software Development Manager

Logistics experts say hubs are essential in ensuring Heathrow expansion delivers for the whole country by spreading jobs, boosting productivity and modernising the construction industry outside London and the south east.

They will ensure that 60 per cent of the procurement spend for expansion will be away from London, spreading the benefits of local investment up and down the country.

Heathrow’s logistics hubs feature in the Government’s Industrial Strategy, listed as an example of how to develop skills across the UK and create conditions where successful businesses can emerge. Heathrow has also started working with other major infrastructure companies to explore how the final sites could be used for future projects.

Lord Deighton, chairman at Heathrow Airport, said: “Heathrow expansion is a national infrastructure project that will benefit the whole country, including right across the Midlands, so it is hugely exciting to have a delegation from Heathrow at Amalga’s site as part of the latest stage of our nationwide tour of potential Logistics Hubs locations.

HRH Princess Anne visiting Burton on Trent, to officially open the new Palletforce Super Hub on Centrum 100
Taken on a tour of the new facility by Michael Conroy, Chief Executive of Palletforce
HRH Princess Anne visiting Burton on Trent, to officially open the new Palletforce Super Hub on Centrum 100 Taken on a tour of the new facility by Michael Conroy, Chief Executive of Palletforce

“Logistics hubs are instrumental in our aim to ensure that expansion spreads the huge potential of its £187 billion of economic benefits across the UK and will help to transform the construction industry and build a lasting skills legacy for future generations in various locations across the country and beyond London.

“We are working in partnership with local employers, councils and entrepreneurs to support new opportunities for the Midlands arising from Heathrow expansion through new jobs, economic growth and easier and faster journeys to and from Heathrow and the Midlands.”