A new 75,000-metre-squared Ministry of Defence storage facility is being built in Longtown, Cumbria, by McLaughlin & Harvey.
Enhancing the Ministry of Defence’s (MOD) storage capacity, the £86m contract will strengthen industrial activity across the UK. It will support approximately 150 high-quality, skilled jobs in Scotland and a further 300 in the North of England, growing the economy across both sides of the border.
With works currently ongoing at the site, the project is due to be completed in early October 2024. The new facility will be a key asset in supporting the armed forces on operations.
Known as the MOD Distribution Centre (North), the facility will be the size of 12 football pitches and be built on a brownfield site within the Longtown estate. The build will provide greater resilience for UK Defence by enhancing MOD’s existing strategic warehouse sites in both Shropshire and Oxfordshire. The project will also allow older warehousing to be retired.
Much of the Departments’ warehouses were built around the Second World War, therefore the modernisation of warehouse facilities will provide the best protection for the assets it holds. The new facility will provide growth capacity for new capabilities coming into service over the next ten years and beyond.
The new warehouse will provide the UK with additional modern storage facilities, building on the success of similar facilities in Donnington, that will ensure assets are available more rapidly to meet surges in demand. This contract represents a fantastic example of the progress we have made in developing and implementing fit-for-purpose facilities that is helping to accelerate our mission of equipping and supporting our UK armed forces today and tomorrow.
John Farrow
DE&S Director, Logistics and Support Operating Centre
I am delighted that work is being done at DM Longtown by McLaughlin & Harvey. Longtown is a hugely important, strategic facility and contributes much to the operational capability of Defence. This work also highlights the number of people at the facility who work cross-border and that Defence is a pan-UK business, involving contractors from right across the UK, to keep its people and allies safe.
James Cartlidge
Minister for Defence Procurement
I welcome this multi-million-pound UK Government defence investment and the hundreds of jobs it will support in Scotland and Cumbria. This giant facility will help ensure kit used by our armed forces is stored in the best possible condition and can be deployed speedily. The Ministry of Defence invests more than £2 billion annually with industry and commerce in Scotland and this project is another great example of how such expenditure is growing the economy and creating better-paid jobs and opportunity right across the country.
Alister Jack
Secretary of State for Scotland
