Shaw National Distribution Centre

Shaw NDC spanned 23 acres (9.3 ha),[2] making it one of Europe's largest warehouse distribution centres during its lifetime.

After The Very Group relocated in 2021 to a new purpose-built facility in the East Midlands, four of the buildings on the site, including three cotton mills, have since been demolished to make way for future plans of housing.

[6] The interiors of the cotton mills were stripped of their cotton-spinning machinery, whilst externally, chimneys were felled and reservoirs were removed.

This however was prevented by the fact the Dee mill's engine house was protected by English Heritage and so for the following 10 years, it stood in the middle of wasteland.

In the 1990s permission was granted to demolish the neglected engine house and work began on building the extension to the distribution centre.

This included a project to reroute the River Beal from the centre of the land, to follow a path around the perimeter of the proposed building instead.

The new building, which includes packing, sorting and distribution facilities complete with a large trailer yard, opened in 1997 and was put into full use in 2001.

New buildings - described as "windowless cubes" [2] - are largely considered eyesores, have been accused of interfering with television reception due to their size and metallic structure.

[citation needed] The increased work at the site has brought more and more heavy goods vehicles, which now operate heavily during the night.

[citation needed] In Autumn 2006, Muslim staff at the warehouse contacted local media and claimed they had been forced to resort to hiding and eating in the stock-storage aisles during Ramadan, as they were not granted allowance for breaking their fasts.

[14] In 2006, the site won the award for "Business Excellence in the North of England" for private sector firms with more than 250 staff.