A BUILDERS’ merchant has unveiled plans to invest £2.75m in a new base in Kirklees.

AW Lumb is set to leave its premises in Ossett and set up a new base at Mill Street East in Dewsbury.

The family-run business, which has been at Sunnydale Mills in Ossett since 1968, has outgrown that site, even though it also has a second yard for storage.

The company expects to move to Dewsbury in June and by the end of the year is expected to have increased its workforce from 52 employees to 75.

Chairman and managing director John Cureton said: “We are always striving to give a better service, but the present site is just too restricted, even though we have a second smaller place in the town.

“We have been looking for a new home for about 10 years without much luck, but over the past two years we’ve really intensified our search.

“As is often the case with these things the right site came up at the right time.

“This is a really exciting time for the company and a major investment for Dewsbury, which as we all know has taken a few knocks over the past few years.

“We hope our move will help to boost confidence in the town.”

Said Mr Cureton: “We have around three acres of yard space in total, whereas at our new site we will double that and be able to provide a far wider range of goods.

“Our present site is really hemmed in and we have access problems, particularly with deliveries coming to us.

“Due to the nature of the stock we carry we deliver most of our orders, but again we have had to restrict the size of vehicles we can operate.”

Mr Cureton added: “Our new home was previously a distribution centre, coincidentally for building materials.

ŠOther than build new offices we haven’t had to do a great deal to the site as it was in a really good condition.

“There’s already a building there which we are completely refurbishing. That will give us around 26,000 sq ft of indoor storage.” Š

AW Lumb supplies building products to clients including housebuilders Barratt Homes, Bellway Homes and McCarthy and Stone.

AW Lumb’s home for the past 40 years is a former engine shed, from the days when Ossett was connected to the railway network.

Arthur Lumb started the company in 1964 and began working out of his spare bedroom before firstly moving to offices in Huddersfield and then to Sunnydale Mills.