Work has begun to transform an old kitchen factory to be used by one of the UK's leading consumer delivery companies.

Hermes UK is set to move into an 80,000 sq ft warehouse built by TSL Projects at Wingates Industrial Estate to be completed by June of this year, allowing the company to be operational in time for their traditional Christmas peak.

Another 280,698 sq ft unit, labelled a 'speculative development', is also set to be built on the prime industrial land.

This is part of a £40.5 million investment in the area.

The whole development is managed by Panattoni, the largest industrial developer in Europe, who are to relabel the 21.7 acre brownfield site as Panattoni Park Bolton, hoping to transform the area into a mini Logistics North, which has provided a massive economic boost to the town.

The whole development is estimated to create more than 600 jobs.

Dan Burn, Panattoni development director, said: “We are delighted to be working with Hermes on its new flagship depot in the region as well as bringing forward such an exciting new speculative opportunity, which is the only development of its size and scale currently under construction in Greater Manchester.

"2020 was a record year for the logistics sector and we are confident that with a paucity of supply across the North West and with very limited speculative development coming forward, the scheme will be perfectly positioned to capitalise on this demand.

Carl Lyon, chief operating officer at Hermes, said: “This new site represents another key growth milestone for us, and the size and scale of our new Bolton depot will enable us to continue to process record levels of parcels for our clients, both large and small.

"More importantly, we’re very pleased to be able to create additional jobs in the region at this time.”

Other plans to transform Wingates Industrial Estate into a economic hub ­— creating an additional 1,800 jobs ­— are yet to be ruled on by the Planning Inspectorate as it takes in part of the greenbelt.

The site was initially developed in the late 1970s as a single warehouse for the manufacturing and distribution of car parts.

Most recently, it accommodated the Bernstein’s Kitchen Factory, which closed over 10 years ago in 2008 with the buildings demolished in 2011 after arson attacks.