Fix announces first site built from scratch
Sam and Stephen Smith, owners of Fix Auto repair centres in Keighley, Bradford and Leeds, are in the process of building Fix Auto UK’s first purpose-built repair centre, with work set to recommence once the coronavirus pandemic is over.
This will be the first repair centre to be built entirely from scratch in the Fix Auto UK network.
The pair (pictured before social distancing rules were introduced) were ready to reveal their ambitious project to transform land that has been derelict since before World War II into a 14,000-sqft flagship repair centre, before coronavirus restrictions stopped all work until further notice.
The site in Viaduct Road, Leeds, once housed the city’s gas holder, which was demolished in 1932 with the site remaining derelict ever since.
Sam Smith explained: “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 and continue to serve our work providers, we moved into a temporary building in May last year.
“This development is in a perfect central location with superb road infrastructure and plenty of space enabling us to build a repair centre to our own specifications with room to park and store up to 70 vehicles. We just needed the right planning permission. Here we are, four years later, with the full support of the local authority. Work had commenced but is obviously on hold until further notice now,” he said.
“As you can imagine, for a site that dates back to the Victorian era and one that hasn’t been touched since before the war, there is an awful lot of ground works to be carried out. Our first challenge is ensuring its safety from harmful substances and there’s also the small challenge of shoring up the remnants of the old gas tower that was effectively a giant hole sunk 18m below the surface. We are looking forward to when the work can continue in the hopefully not too distant future,” Smith added.
Fix Auto UK director Ian Pugh said: “We have had numerous franchisee partners develop new sites from existing buildings but this is the first here in the UK to be built from scratch, to a franchisee partners’ own specifications. It truly reflects entrepreneurial spirit that exists through the entire network. It is disappointing that this exciting project has been halted but these are unprecedented times and health and safety is the priority now. I look forward to following the project once work is able to continue.”
