The UK’s NM Group – North Midland Construction – completed its first contract for iconic furniture retailer IKEA at the Swedish group’s flagship Sheffield store. The nearly-31,600m² store cost €68 million to build and created 480 jobs. The retailer’s most sustainable store to date, it incorporates photovoltaic panels and rainwater harvesting as well as linking to a district heating scheme.
The site lies on the busy A6178 Sheffield Road near junction 34 of the M1 motorway, explained Geoff Poyzer, managing director of NM Group’s highways division. One of the main arterial routes into Sheffield and close to a major shopping centre, the project required extensive traffic management throughout construction. As the project ran in parallel with the construction of the new store, NM Group worked hand in hand with both Highways England and IKEA’s building contractors. NM’s remit was to widen roundabout approaches and construct more lanes to increase the road capacity at four junctions. NM also created a completely new service entrance for the 983-space car park.
