Welcome to "Condom-chester". Not only can Colchester boast its credentials as Britain's oldest recorded town but also as the global storage centre for the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF).

The IPPF is the world's biggest voluntary organisation concerned with family planning and sexual health.

Its new warehouse HQ will be based in the Severalls area of town. New jobs are on the cards as a result of the move to Colchester, though exact numbers remain uncertain.

The warehousing of condoms and other family planning items will be run by Colchester-based Wallis Shipping and consignments of contraceptives and medical equipment from the IPPF will be shipped from Colchester and out to the emerging economies in West and East Africa, South America and the Pacific Islands.

The aim of the IPPF is to provide education and choice on sexual health issues for both men and women.

By relocating the products from its Dunstable warehouse to Colchester, Wallis Shipping hopes to create new jobs in the Colchester storage facility.

Published Wednesday April 7, 2004

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