Leeds motorway services worth £64m opens with "critical infrastructure facilities" for key workers

A new Yorkshire service area worth £64m has opened today on the M1.

The Leeds Skelton Lake Services, opened by Extra MSA Group, is situated at Junction 45 on the M1, and has created 300 jobs in the area.

Construction of the services started in 2018, but bosses have said that it adds ‘critical infrastructure facilities’ during the coronavirus outbreak.

The role of MSAs (Motorway Service Areas) during the outbreak has been fully endorsed by the Secretary of State for Transport in a recent letter to all MSA Operators.

Andrew Long, CEO for Extra MSA Group, commented: “In these unprecedented times, Extra is taking the necessary measures to ensure that those who need to move around the country, inclusive of the Yorkshire region, can do so safely, whilst taking all necessary and recommended ‘protection measures’ for our employees, customers and tenant ‘brand’ operating partners.

“Keeping MSAs open is fundamental to the safe use of the UK Strategic Road Network and whilst these are challenging times, the opening of Leeds Skelton Lake Services will provide additional ‘critical infrastructure’ facilities as are also important for the national and regional economy.

“With Leeds Skelton Lake, Extra is also keen to be looking into the future, in terms of what users will require for both themselves and their vehicles.

“In addition to providing more than 300 full time equivalent new jobs, the process for the evolution of this new development has involved Extra working closely with many locally based ‘stakeholders’, including Leeds City Council, Leeds City Region LEP, Highways England, Leeds University & Colleges, together with the Ahead Partnership.”