New Hermes warehouse 'to create 1,300 jobs' in Barnsley

The company said the depot would create about 1,300 jobs in Barnsley

A courier company is planning to build a distribution warehouse it says will create about 1,300 jobs.

Hermes claimed the centre in Barnsley would be the largest of its kind in Europe.

The 363,000 sq ft (33,724 sq m) depot, named Colossus, would be located in Hoyland near the M1 motorway and handle up to 1.3 million parcels a day.

The company's chief executive Martijn de Lange said the new centre was needed due to an "online shopping boom".

Mr de Lange said the firm had experienced its biggest Christmas period to date, "handling in excess of 49.1 million parcels during December 2019 alone - significantly up from 39.5 million in December 2018".

The first part of the development is expected to open in 2022.

Hermes grew out of a company founded in 1974 to deliver items for Bradford-based catalogue shopping firm Grattan.