AS the number of digital shoppers continues to climb, a parcel distribution centre company has revealed it will be bringing around 200 more 'local' jobs to the city. 

Work started on the DPD distribution centre located on the west side of Kingmoor Park industrial estate last November, with the steelworks expected to go up next month. 

All going to plan, the centre aims to be completed by mid-August and will create around a total of 350 jobs.

Around 160 jobs will come from the previous site, making up for between 180 to 190 new jobs, offering both line staff and driver positions. 

Neil McIntyre, managing director of Kingmoor Park Properties, said: "The parcel industry logistics for online shopping has massively increased, especially since Covid.

"Where we thought we would be in ten years probably has happened in the space of ten months.

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"Carlisle has its strengths. It's a strategic location on a map next to a motorway junction. When we look at the growth of that industry its really spread north and wide from recent distribution centres.

"Previously DPD would have done a lot of stuff from Warrington or Preston, but the volumes are such now that Carlisle in its own right needs its own depot," he said. 

Mr McIntyre highlighted that the DPD unit site has increased from a 42,000 sq ft to 62,500 sq ft, futher evidence of the growing demand. 

"This unit is 62,500 sq ft but it sits on eight acres, which is probably double the size we would put a building of that size on, so you can appreciate the vehicle flow and activity that will be on the site at any given time. 

"We are aiming for and are on track at the minute to be complete by mid-August," he said. 

Online shopping is on the rise throughout Cumbria and the nation; a theory that is reiterated by both DPD's expansion plans but also the creation of the 7,000 sq metre station Amazon delivery site located on Woodlands Industrial Storage Estate in Longtown back in 2020. 

Last week Amazon also announced plans to open two new fulfilment centres creating 2,500 new jobs over the next three years. The two new fulfilment centres are situated in Peddimore, West Midlands, and Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham.

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