Roads have officially opened at Leeds’ new Temple Green logistics base.

The 165-acre development at junction 45 of the M1 is believed to be the largest of its kind in the north of England.

Opening the development’s roads means that the £7 million first phase of a total £9.1 million infrastructure and groundworks investment programme is now complete, creating 1.2 km of new dual carriageway.

It also gives direct access for the scheme’s second phase, which can accommodate up to 500,000 sq ft of development-ready distribution space.

This second phase is on track to be completed by the autumn. A third and fourth phase will accommodate a further one million sq ft of space.

The project is a joint venture between Evans Property Group and Harworth Estates.

James Pitt, development director of Evans Property Group, said: “The infrastructure programme opens up access to four phases of development equating to some 1.4 million sq ft of manufacturing or logistics space, along with hundreds of new jobs.”