Jobs created on Leeds site which has been disused for almost 90 years

The Fix Auto Leeds North repair centre has been built on land on Viaduct Road in Leeds which housed the city’s gas holder until it was demolished in 1932. The site has remained practically untouched ever since.

The first vehicles have rolled into the multi-million pound 14,500 sq ft development created by Sam and Stephen Smith.

Sam Smith said: “Soon after we opened our first site in Leeds five years ago it became apparent that unit would not accommodate our ambitions and growth so we immediately started looking for an alternative. We found this site but as we needed to maintain the growth in the business, we moved into a temporary building in May 2019.

“The new development is in a perfect central location with superb road infrastructure and plenty of space enabling us to develop the building to our own specifications with room to park and store up to 70 vehicles.”

He added: “As you can imagine, for a site that dates back to the Victorian era and one that had not been touched since before the war, there was an awful lot of ground works to be carried out.

"Our first challenge was to ensure all was safe from harmful substances and there was also the small task of shoring up the remnants of the old gas tower that was effectively a giant hole sunk 18 metres below the surface. It was all worth it when you look at where we are today.”

Fix Auto UK’s Managing Director Ian Pugh, said: “This is another huge day in Fix Auto UK’s history. While we have celebrated many major investments by our franchise partners over the years, building a repair centre from scratch is significant milestone and is something that the entire industry needs to celebrate particularly during these uncertain times.”

Fix Auto UK is part of a global franchised network of more than 776 bodyshops.