A PLAN to add a new 370-space car park at the ASOS warehouse between Great Houghton and Grimethorpe is expected to be approved in a meeting at the town hall tomorrow.
The online fashion retailer’s application, which was submitted in the summer, will be discussed by planning board members at their meeting on Tuesday.
ASOS employs around 4,000 people at its warehouse, on Park Spring Road, and it is hoped the extra space will alleviate concerns about workers parking on the main road and reduce congestion in its existing car park during hectic shift changeovers.
The move comes after employee Nicoleta Moldoveanu died earlier this year when she was struck by a car at around 7am after completing a night shift.
The 20-year-old, originally from Romania, died at the scene from a skull fracture, which led colleagues and local crime meetings to lodge concerns about the site’s parking provision.
Since the incident, XPO Logistics, which run the site on ASOS’s behalf, have taken steps towards addressing the issues - including hosting regular staff briefings to tell employees not to park on the road and be mindful of post-shift congestion.
A council planning report said: “The site currently has parking for 553 cars, which equates to one space per two staff members. At seasonal peak periods, staff numbers increase by circa 400 per shift.
“The current car park is accessed from Park Spring Road via the main site access. This creates a conflict, particularly during shift changes, where high numbers of staff are leaving the site at the same time as others who are trying to gain access, alongside delivery vehicles.
“This has led to an ongoing problem of staff parking on grass verges and lay-bys around and near the site, which is a significant risk to highway safety. The proposed car park seeks to address this, therefore the proposed is recommended for approval.”
An XPO spokesman, the firm which runs the ASOS site, added: “The proposed new car parking facility is intended to relieve the periodic short-term vehicle congestion experienced during peak staff changeovers by providing a means of separating the shifts.
“At shift changeover, incoming and outgoing shift workers’ vehicles will be kept separate in order to speed up the process and reduce both incoming and outgoing queues.”
