The Asda food depository in Rochdale handles up to three million cases of chilled and frozen food per week as well as other food products for the supermarket chain. McLaren completed the development, which achieved a BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rating, in 40 weeks. 

The low carbon development involved the construction of the chilled and frozen food distribution centre, a two storey office block, a plant deck with associated enabling works, and external works, including a car park and hard and soft landscaping. The site also incorporates a vehicle wash and fuelling facility and a 131,000 sq ft service centre. McLaren carried out major earthwork remodelling and infrastructure works to the site to facilitate the new development.

McLaren also implemented specific design and construction initiatives to enable efficiency savings to meet ADSA’s challenging sustainability targets. These include collecting waste heat from the refrigeration plant to provide under floor heating in the ancillary and office area, LED lighting to provide one of the lowest in class energy use densities for distribution buildings, photovoltaic cells for efficient electricity generation, a combined heat and power plant, and a rainwater harvesting system.