Warehouse mainly staffed by robots will operate 24/7

North Chiswick Business Park. Picture: Google Streetview

Ocado have submitted an application to Ealing Council for a warehouse that will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week in the North Chiswick Business Park in W3.

The site is located just behind the recycling facility on Stirling Road and will occupy three units in the industrial development.

Ocado currently have 22 fulfilment centres and ‘spokes’ to support their home delivery service across the UK the nearest of which are currently in Ruislip and Wimbledon. Ocado has hailed its warehouse in Andover “the most efficient warehouse logistics solution ever designed”. This warehouse spans an area equal to three football pitches and is mainly staffed by robots who travel at very fast speeds. The local warehouse is not expected to be as large as this, however it is likely that it will be equipped with this cutting edge automated technology, so the number of jobs it will bring to the area may be limited.

A spokesperson for Ocado said, “This application is for a new warehouse which is similar to our other facilities. This will enable us to better serve our customers in the local area.”

Ocado declined to give an estimate of the number of vehicle movements the warehouse was likely to generate and the level of late night activity at the site.

The centre requires a licence from Ealing Council because alcohol will be delivered from the premises. If you wish to make a comment the reference is 18LIC53031PREM and comments can be made until 18 September by emailing licensing@ealing.gov.uk.

26th August 2018