Wandsworth micro hub goes live

By Liza Helps Property Editor Logistics Matters

THE TRIAL funded by DEFRA will support low emission deliveries across Wandsworth and surrounding areas based out of a micro logistics hub in the Southside Shopping Centre car park.

The 900 ft2 hub has been created by sustainable logistics experts Decarbon Logistics Solutions in partnership with APCOA Parking. Following a competitive tender process sustainable final-mile courier Delivery Mates was selected to operate daily from the hub, extending their same day, next day and on demand parcel delivery service to residents and businesses. Parcels will be received into the hub from an electric delivery vehicle before being sorted into delivery routes, loaded, and distributed by electric cargo bikes in the surrounding area. 

Decarbon Logistics Solutions Chief Executive Officer Paul McCormack, said: “I believe the decarbonisation of logistics takes many forms, including the development of urban logistics networks and ultimately reducing emissions in our towns and cities.

This site at Wandsworth is another great example of how we can repurpose existing real estate for final mile logistics and benefit the local community. Customers are provided the same quality delivery services but using only walkers, cargo bikes or electric vehicles. It’s also a great opportunity for a landlord to earn additional revenue, especially if they have underutilised properties suitable for these types of operations.

We are starting to see real estate developers globally consider logistics when designing their new developments, but for now it’s about using existing assets. What is most impressive in this project is the collaboration of several business entities under a common goal.” 

It is expected that this micro logistics hub trial in Wandsworth will achieve similar emissions savings as CRP’s previous micro logistics hub trial in Pimlico. After only four months of operations, the e-cargo bikes operating from the Pimlico hub travelled 9,377 km, which led to a total emissions reduction of 1,613 kg of CO2, 6,388 g of NOx, and 105 g of PM2.5 when compared to polluting van deliveries. 

The APCOA car park has 24/7 access, security patrols, CCTV, 4G WiFi signal, power supply and welfare facilities which are located in the shopping centre. Loading and unloading takes place within the micro logistics hub space to keep noise levels at minimum and to not disturb other APCOA car park customers. 

These micro hub schemes also cut delivery times too; researchers at the University of Westminster used GPS data to compare routes taken by cargo bikes in London with routes that vans would have to take to deliver the same parcels. Results show that services provided by cargo bikes in London are 1.61 times faster than that performed by van.