Member Article

BT’s Northallerton investment creates ‘one-stop-shop’ on Darlington Road

An investment by BT at its garage on Darlington Road is creating new jobs in Northallerton, whilst paving the way for future recruitment.

The garage, part of the BT Fleet 500-strong garage network, has been selected as a limited number of approved privatised testing providers for the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA).

New equipment and an upgrade to facilities means the garage is now an Authorised Testing Facility (ATF) for heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) and large goods vehicles (LGVs) in addition to the many services already offered for light commercial vehicles (LCVs) and cars.

This investment has led to a new full-time receptionist being recruited at the garage and recruitment is also underway for an additional technician. UK-wide BT Fleet is currently recruiting 50 mechanical motor technicians and also plans to recruit around 40 new apprentices next year to join teams across the garage network.

Mark Wolfe, BT Fleet’s head of garages service UK, said: “We pride ourselves on recognising and responding to customer demand and following a recent reduction in Authorised Testing Facility locations by the DVSA, it was becoming increasingly challenging for local fleets to find convenient test centres.

“This investment here at the Northallerton site has enabled us to offer a ‘one-stop-shop’ solution. Local businesses whether large organisations or small enterprises, can now come to us for everything from new tyres right through to annual testing of HGVs.

“It has also led to the creation of two full time jobs and we hope that there will be further recruitment down the line as word gets out about the new services on offer.”

Tom Keeney, BT’s regional director for Yorkshire and the Humber, added: “This is good news for Northallerton. As well as continuing to invest in our operations in the town we are also expanding the services we offer to local businesses, which will hopefully cut their travel time for both routine maintenance and annual vehicle checks, ultimately saving them time and money.”

Ten people are currently employed at the Northallerton site, which services and repairs vehicles for many well-known local companies, such as Ringway Infrastructure Services, Northallerton Commercials and Sayers Road Tanker.