Flood-hit printing firm invests £1m in transforming Kirkstall premises into new business centre

A printing firm which was put out of business by the floods that hit Leeds on Boxing Day 2015, has invested over £1m in redeveloping its Kirkstall site into a new business centre.

Duffield Printers was able to transform the flood-hit Airedale House with the support of Leeds City Council and grant funding from Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP).

Owner Martyn Duffield was on his way to Australia when Storm Eva hit Leeds on the evening of Boxing Day, 2015. Television monitors in Abu Dhabi airport were showing news footage of the devastation caused after the River Aire had burst its banks.

Kirkstall Road, where Martin’s print business had been based for over 50 years, was completely flooded.

18 months later, however, Airedale House Business Centre is once again operational and is already at 80% occupancy. Comprising two buildings on Kirkstall Road, Airedale House and adjacent Airebank House, offers serviced office space for businesses.

Featuring 40 serviced office units with room for up to 220 workstations, in addition to meeting rooms and ‘virtual’ office space, the centre is home to a wide range of businesses including IT services and equipment providers, lawyers, accountants, recruitment, advertising and PR agencies.

By the time work completes this autumn, Martyn will have invested over £1m in reinstating and redeveloping the building, including grant funding worth £100k from the LEP flood recovery programme, in addition to business rate relief and grants from Leeds City Council to help with initial clean-up costs and flood prevention measures.

The 20,000 sq ft building Airedale House has had the ground floor raised, pumps and flood defence barriers installed and non-return valves fitted into the drains, to protect the building against any flooding in future.

Duffield Printers, which occupied the ground floor of Airedale House when the floods hit, was established in the 1890s and had been trading from its Kirkstall Road premises since 1960.

Martyn said: “Support from the Council and the LEP has made a massive difference. We went through nine months of uncertainty and financially it was very tight.

“So, it was a real morale boost to receive the grant funding. It has given us the confidence to carry on – investing our own time, energy and money in creating something that will last and create employment for generations to come.”

Councillor Lucinda Yeadon, deputy leader of Leeds City Council, commented: “Having witnessed at first hand the devastation caused by the floods, it’s fantastic to see the recovery and transformation that has taken place over such a relatively short space of time.

“It’s testimony to the resilience of the community and the commitment of people like Martyn and his sons, that Airedale House is once again a thriving centre for growing businesses, providing high quality workspace, jobs and opportunities for people in the local area.”

Roger Marsh OBE, chair of the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership, said: “I am delighted to see the successful redevelopment of Airedale House following the destruction caused by the Boxing Day floods.

“It’s a real success story for Leeds City Region and a superb example of how the support and funding from the LEP and our colleagues at Leeds City Council has led to the premises reopening and the development of long term flood resilience plans.”