Former Speedibake site taken over by car business

The fire at the factory in 2020 covered large parts of the city in thick black smoke

The site of an industrial bakery which was destroyed by fire is to be taken over by a car business.

Planners have given the go-ahead for Cars 2 Limited to store hundreds of vehicles at the former Speedibake factory, close to Wakefield city centre.

The bakery closed permanently following a major blaze in February 2020 which engulfed much of the city centre in a dark cloud of smoke.

Associated British Foods ended all operations at the factory which was demolished after the incident.

At the time, the company said: "The financial cost and time needed to undertake a full rebuild is simply too great."

Wakefield Council has approved plans to allow up to 400 vehicles to be stored on the brownfield site, which will serve Hyundai, Seat, Nissan and Renault car showrooms located nearby, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

A statement submitted on behalf of the applicant said it would "bring back into use a currently vacant plot of land and will support the expansion, growth and productivity of an established business and employer within the Wakefield area".

It added: "The storage of vehicles on this site, will ease congestion and enable further on site visitor/customer parking, and relocating the majority of the bulk vehicle delivery and collections to a more suitable singular location."

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