Green light for Leeds manufacturer’s facility

Microwave technology manufacturer SARAS has been given the green light for a new production facility in Leeds.

The company brought in Martin Walsh Architectural and Enzygo Environmental planning consultants to develop its 12,000 sq ft facility on Tong Road in Leeds, and has now secured full planning permission for the building.

The facility will accommodate the growth of SARAS, which supplies the defence, broadcast and wireless comms markets.

It will cover three levels and include production and manufacture facilities as well as R&D and office space. The third floor will be let out whilst the business adjusts to its new facility, but the company anticipates that the increased capacity in production will see it take up 50% of the third floor in 18 months.

According to planning documents, the Tong Road site was formerly a snooker club, which be demolished to make way for the factory

Dr Ashwain Rayit, Director at Saras Technology, commented: “We are pleased to be working with the team at Martin Walsh Architectural in bringing to fruition our new state-of-the-art R&D, design, production and manufacturing site. The new facility is the next phase in the company’s expansion, and will bring new employment opportunities to the area.”

James Whipp, Architectural Technician for Martin Walsh Architectural, commented: “We are pleased to have secured planning permission for this new facility on behalf of SARAS, a business that is leading the way in RF technology. This proposed site is testament to their success within the market and will accommodate their growth, which is happening at an accelerated pace.

“We are now looking forward to moving ahead with the designs and helping the SARAS Technology team to bring their vision for the new facility to life.”

It is expected that work on development will begin in summer 2017.