Pictured: Brothers Richard ,right, and Nicholas Blount outside their state-of-the-art storage facilities in Sutton-in-Ashfield

A company has opened its latest self-storage facility as part of a £1.2m investment to transform a disused factory.

BE Webbe, of Derby, opened its latest facility in Sutton-in-Ashfield on Wednesday (September 21) - exactly a year to the day that it bought the former GT Tools premises in Coxmoor Road.

The premises had been empty for a year since the specialist manufacturer went into administration and the building had suffered from vandalism.

Now, new life has been breathed into the derelict building which has a brand new look and has led to regeneration in the street.

BE Webbe's associated company Kinsey (Midlands) has removed the old asbestos roof, put in new columns to support a new, higher roof and put in a mezzanine floor. 

It has installed loading bays and put in new shutter doors for access, new offices, kitchen and toilets. The old floor has been sandblasted and specialist painted.

The work has created 17,000 sq ft of storage on the ground and mezzanine floor covering half of the building. This has produced 150 storage units, ranging in size from 20 sq ft to 300 sq ft. A second phase will be done next year, creating another 17,000 sq ft.

The acquisition and recent work cost £860,000, and the completion will cost another £350,000.

BW Webbe was one of the first companies in Derby to introduce self storage. In addition to its facility at Mansfield Road, Derby, it has refurbished buildings in Wharf Road, Burton, and Wilsthorpe Road, Long Eaton to provide self-storage facilities and was looking around the Sutton-in-Ashfield and Mansfield areas for two years to find suitable premises.

"Our aim is to provide low-cost, high quality storage space in different size units on flexible terms," said director Richard Blount.

"This is what we have achieved by providing this much-needed facility to the local community in the Sutton-in-Ashfield and Mansfield area."

The units can be used to store items ranging from household goods such as furniture to garage and garden equipment and archive files for individuals or businesses.

They will have easy access from the M1 and A38 corridor stretching to South Normanton and nearby Alfreton.

An added bonus is a large yard at the side of the building which will eventually provide a secure, gated storage compound.

In a further boost for the area Kinsey has also refurbished the next door building to create Jimmy Beans, a soft play centre for children which will open next month.

Adding to the improvements, but in a separate development, a tyre depot is being built next to that, which will open next year.