WORK has started on building a new £4million distribution warehouse extension for footwear business Pavers Shoes in York, which will allow the company to double in size.

The warehouse is situated on the Northminster Business Park at Upper Poppleton, where the head office for Pavers is also based.

Construction company Harris CM, which is based in Pontefract, has secured a contract for the project, and work has started on site.

The extension will be 4,400 m2 when complete, with work scheduled to finish early in 2020.

It will feature a steel-framed structure, which will have a two-tier mezzanine floor and two storeys of integral office accommodation, complete with racking and fire sprinkler system.

Pavers Ltd, also known as Pavers Shoes, is a family-owned footwear business operating in the UK and Ireland. Established by Catherine Paver in 1971, initially by organising shoe parties with clearance stock from shoe catalogues, the first shop was opened in Scarborough, along with stores in York and Hull.

Pavers currently has more than 100 stores, all managed from the head office in Upper Poppleton. The retailer also has its own 24-hour TV footwear shopping channel on Sky.

Mark Granger, director of operations for Pavers, said: “Following the continuing organic growth of the business and the acquisition of Jones Bootmaker, additional capacity is required to ensure we can service our retail channels in an effective manner.

“The expansion will allow the company to double in size over the coming years and allow us to remain on this site and in York for the foreseeable future. This is great news for both existing employees but also for the York economy as we will be creating new job opportunities as we continue to grow as a business.”

Jason Adlam, chief executive officer for Harris CM Limited, added: “It’s a large-scale project that will allow the business to continue expanding its operations. Once complete, the extended warehouse will be able to accommodate the large numbers of shoes and boots necessary to support Pavers’ expansion plans. We were also particularly pleased to contribute to the discussions to ensure that the warehouse extension has a state of the art fire-suppressing sprinkler system that is second to none for a project of this nature.

“The contract win is also welcome news for many of our supply chain partners, who are based in the Yorkshire area. It is also our first opportunity to work with the Employer’s Agent, LHL Group, HTC Architects and, of course our client, Pavers.”