Vow Wholesale

With the beneficial growth generated through acquisitions and mergers, today VOW Wholesale stands as one of largest Business Supplies and Services partners in the UK.

The Project

The customer required a permanent loading bay to enhance business efficiency during inclement weather. This solution was necessary to protect both goods and staff, providing shelter and improving loading times. As a result, the number of deliveries per working day could increase, better serving the expanding customer base.

The Planning Application

The Big Box team started the planning application for the new loading canopy. We then began monitoring the application alongside The Planning Group Limited (TPGL) and waited for five weeks until all the consultee responses came through from the highway’s agency, environmental agencies, and other involved consultees.

Our team and TPGL carefully did pre-work to ensure that we anticipated no problems with an 8-week delivery date, and then we ordered the building. 5 weeks into the application, the consultee responses came in and they all gave their planning consent.

Four weeks later, the building was delivered and installed before the application was given full approval from the council. The structure was being used at full capacity before full planning consent was given 2 to 3 weeks later.

In just a few short weeks after this, we submitted another planning application after relocating and installing the original smaller structure to another site. Our highly skilled team and strong partnership with TPGL allowed us to provide Vow Wholesale with faster and more efficient build times in both instances.

I’ve worked with Martin and the team for over 10 years at this point, and can’t say enough about how great they are – The Planning Group Limited go the extra mile to provide an excellent planning application service. We’ve worked together on over 30 retrospective planning applications over the years, during which time 100% have succeeded. Their partnership has been instrumental in not only speeding up our building projects significantly, but ensuring the process is pain free. Thank you to Martin and the team for all of your hard work.

– Stuart Rathbone – BigBox UK

The Solution

Big Box solution was the trussed/lattice frames offering a clear 30m span covered in high-quality thick tarpaulin to battle the elements, with high bay LED lighting and emergency lighting in case of fire. This frame is cost-efficient and suitable for larger span buildings up to 50m wide without the need for columns to support the structure. The clear span allows vehicles to maneuver freely without needing to avoid unsightly columns in the loading area to maximise efficiency.

There were problems with the thickness of the concrete in some areas so the anchors were adjusted accordingly. We had to move the building slightly which hindered the fire route from the main building. So we installed a fire door in the side wall of the structure for occupants of the adjacent building to allow escape in case of fire.

“After a thorough tender process, we chose Big Box to remove an aged external canopy and install a much larger external canopy to facilitate an increase in our dispatch area at our Lutterworth site. Big Box were first class in all our dealings with them, and managed both the installation at our Lutterworth site but also the decommissioning of the previous canopy and installation of that canopy in one of our other sites. Big Box also helped us through the complete planning process and the communication was exemplary throughout the project. I cannot fault the professionalism of the Big Box team, and in particular Stuart Rathbone who ran the project for them, project delivered on time and to budget.”

– Steve Smith – UK Warehouse Director

Below you can find the installation process followed by the project completion…