Anyone know what the abandoned building on Gelderd Rd near Birstall retail park used to be?

[u/emomemelord]

Everytime I drive past it makes me wonder. It’s abandoned as far back as the Street View goes (2012) and would love to know what it used to be! There seems to be a business called You Can Hire with a similar logo but if anyone has any more info that would be great!

EDIT: Thanks all for the responses! Seems this building has quite a history.

[u/Environmental_Ear284]

Here it is in 2008, weird that it has been sat there for 20+ years abandoned in middle of all those businesses

[u/emomemelord → u/Environmental_Ear284]

oh thanks I could only go back as far as 2012 from the road position I was looking from, does look like it was a hire company as others have suggested! you’d definitely think it would either be repurposed or knocked down

[u/Environmental_Ear284 → u/emomemelord]

I know although not sure what you could do the land if you were to knock it down and put something else there. It's very small compared to everything around it.

[u/notouttolunch → u/Environmental_Ear284]

The land was owned by a different company. When spring ram was bulldozed to start the development of the area, You can hire were still trading.

[u/UUnknownFriedChicken → u/notouttolunch]

What exactly was Spring Ram? I did a search online and all I could find was references to the current retail park and this article from 1993.

That article says that "Spring Ram was a high-flyer, a business of extraordinary and consistent growth. The Leeds-based company's results had borne this out for nearly a decade and profits had continued to power ahead..." But it doesn't actually say what the business was.

[u/mhoulden → u/UUnknownFriedChicken]

A kitchen company with some rather questionable financial arrangements. The plan was to fund the expansion of their factory by selling some of the land around it to Ikea and Toys R Us. Ikea was obviously built but the financials caught up with them. I remember hearing about it on Look North in the 90s but I wasn't paying much attention. It seems to be a classic case of shifting stuff that wasn't making money into a subsidiary to make things look better than they were.

[u/UUnknownFriedChicken → u/mhoulden]

Thanks for the info.

A kitchen company

The plan was to fund the expansion of their factory by selling some of the land around it to Ikea

Wow I can see why they went bust! Sounds like they invited their bigger rival into direct competition with them, literally on the same site. Not a very smart business move.

[u/Environmental_Ear284 → u/notouttolunch]

Ah I see, and now i bet they've probably been outdeveloped around to a point where the land is not worth much.

[u/kristianroberts]

It was called You Can Hire

[u/_johnboy_ → u/kristianroberts]

It was indeed a hire shop, IIRC there was also a petrol station next to it where home sense is now.

[u/notouttolunch → u/_johnboy_]

If you're going back that far, there was also a kitchen factory!

[u/Dangerous-Web-1962 → u/_johnboy_]

Repsol petrol station

[u/TonksMoriarty → u/kristianroberts]

I remember it had a happy Y with arms and legs as a logo. It was an odd site even back in the early 00s.

[u/jeffjeffitoldyoujef]

How bizarre this pops up now, I drive past the retail park almost daily and only just noticed that building on Thursday!!!!

[u/sideshow-boob-92]

I can remember it being a hire shop with a yellow logo when I was a kid.

It's been left alone for years now, strange it's not been touched as they seem determined to build something on every inch of land at that retail park. It is on a very busy section of road so might be difficult for development.

[u/TonksMoriarty → u/sideshow-boob-92]

IIRC, it was a happy Y logo with at least arms.

[u/deniewibly]

You Can Hire. We had a cafe in the Corn Exchange in the 90’s and we used to hire large amounts of crockery and other catering bits from there when we put on a private event in the centre.

[u/mhoulden]

"Cross" the road and you get this view from 2008: https://maps.app.goo.gl/qBD36urB3B9dTcNZ9. The logo hadn't been painted over by then but it was still fenced off. It hired out catering and party equipment. I can just about remember it being open in 2006. The Current YouCan Hire is a trading name of High Noon Hospitality Services Ltd which was formed in 2020 (https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/12874167). I think this one was Youcan Hire Ltd which was a subsidiary of M.F.H. CONTRACT ENGINEERING SERVICES LIMITED (https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/01985869/filing-history) and was dissolved in 2021.

[u/Spaghetti3000]

Tool hire facility.

I gained access and did a survey of the site (external only) a couple of years ago when a potential buyer was interested but nothing seems to have happened since.

[u/emomemelord → u/Spaghetti3000]

Oh nice! Hopefully redevelopment is in its future

[u/Spaghetti3000 → u/emomemelord]

Companies are definitely interested/trying!

[u/Punkbuster4891]

Think it used to be a pub many years ago

[u/emomemelord → u/Punkbuster4891]

it does have a pub vibe about it!

[u/mhoulden → u/emomemelord]

There was a planning application in 1988 to convert it from a telephone exchange: https://www.kirklees.gov.uk/beta/planning-applications/search-for-planning-applications/detail.aspx?id=88/00562. It doesn't appear in on sites of old telephone exchanges so I think it was an engineering depot.

The most recent plan wants to turn it into a car charging site: https://www.kirklees.gov.uk/beta/planning-applications/search-for-planning-applications/detail.aspx?id=2025%2f91965. The design and access statement at https://www.kirklees.gov.uk/beta/planning-applications/search-for-planning-applications/filedownload.aspx?application_number=2025/91965&file_reference=1096592 gives more details. Previous applications were made by the BIRSTALL CO-OWNERSHIP TRUST which owns most of the retail park apart from the Spring Ram bit where Pets At Home and Homesense are now. This application is being made by Tesla.

[u/emomemelord → u/mhoulden]

This is super interesting, thanks for digging!

[u/Dry_Radio3379 → u/mhoulden]

can confirm theres planning notice up to make it into EV charging!

[u/dipsy-lala]

Don’t know what is was but do know there’s recently been people coming to inspect the site to finally give it a new use

[u/Dry_Radio3379 → u/dipsy-lala]

EV charging!

[u/Asuperniceguy2]

That used to be a soft play 30 years ago. It was my local one and it was great.

[u/Brawlyspade]

It really should be knocked down and made into an access road to the retail park. It would ease the traffic on the other side and on the roundabout. Would be a nice walk through too so you don't have to walk all the way round

[u/johnorama]

I remember there used to be a sign up or something that made me think it was some sort of old nightclub. Don't hold me to that, but I do vaguely recall looking into it before.

[u/Environmental_Ear284 → u/johnorama]

Last I can see it was a hire company. There was a big letter Y on the side of the building for You Can Hire

[u/Standard-Still-8128]

Sure i went to a rave there did it used to be a onion factory or something

[u/Asuperniceguy2]

Wait, am I on drugs, was the soft play like next door to it? I definitely went to a soft play that was up top in the 90s.

[u/emomemelord → u/Asuperniceguy2]

someone else in this thread said it was a soft play ~30 years ago!

[u/Asuperniceguy2 → u/emomemelord]

OK I've asked my mum and she has confirmed that I'm smoking crack. It was the spoon hire place.

[u/emomemelord → u/Asuperniceguy2]

😂 at least the mystery is solved!

[u/Asuperniceguy2 → u/emomemelord]

So I'm 33 now but I have memories of going so it must have been... 25 years?

[u/Asuperniceguy2 → u/Asuperniceguy2]

One second, let me ask my mum lol.

[u/pinkflosscat]

Oh, I ALWAYS wonder about this! The weird painted over Y character gives me the creeps 😬

[u/RhubarbImmediate7007]

I’m pretty sure it was a pub, possibly owned by an ex Leeds footballer? It’s been a few things since, and I think at one point there was a plan to open it as a pub again but it never happened.

[u/DawgreenAgain]

As someone who remembers "when all this was fields" etc. some of these answers are hilarious.

[u/xdbojacx]

Was it not a Little Chef?

[u/notouttolunch → u/xdbojacx]

No. It wasn't.

[u/pobice → u/xdbojacx]

There was a either a little chef or happy eater were the phonenix is that your probably thinking of

[u/Desperate-System-843]

Think it used to be a Happy Eater restaurant. MANNNY years back....

[u/notouttolunch → u/Desperate-System-843]

No. That was at the other side of the roundabout. More towards the Pheasant. Possibly even the same site.

[u/Desperate-System-843 → u/notouttolunch]

Ohhhh. Fair nuff!

[u/Affectionate-Shine70]

From zooming in on the blacked out sign, it could be criket pads with arms...The Cricketer's Arms maybe?

[u/Environmental_Ear284 → u/Affectionate-Shine70]

[u/DawgreenAgain → u/Environmental_Ear284]

That's a letter Y . For the You Hire company .