Microsoft is building next door: storage for the trades at Skelton Grange

Leeds City Council has unanimously approved one of the biggest construction projects Yorkshire has seen in years: Microsoft's data centre campus on the former Skelton Grange power station site, right here in Stourton. Three data centre buildings totalling around 424,000 sq ft, plus a further 160,000 sq ft of industrial space, on a 65-acre site on the north-east bank of the River Aire. The investment has been reported at around £4 billion.

Construction is expected to support around 740 jobs over a six-year build, with work likely to start on site within 12 to 18 months of the April decision, and more than 350 operational roles to follow.

We're paying attention for a simple reason. Our container storage in Leeds (Stourton) is on Pontefract Road, about five minutes' drive from the Skelton Grange site. For the next several years this corner of South Leeds will be full of groundworkers, electricians, M&E contractors, cladders, fit-out teams and the suppliers who serve them. Every one of those trades has the same problem: where do you keep your kit?

The contractor's storage problem

Anyone who's worked a major site knows the drill. Site compounds are tight, and the space in them goes to the main contractor's priorities, not yours. Leaving tools in the van overnight is an insurance claim waiting to happen. And hauling equipment up the M1 from your home base every morning burns hours you're not being paid for.

A drive-up storage container solves it. It's your own lockable 20ft unit near the job, where the power tools, fixings, materials and site kit live between shifts. You load and unload straight from the van door, with no corridors to carry gear down and no goods lift to wait for.

Why trades use our Stourton yard

The Leeds yard sits on Pontefract Road in Stourton, LS10 1DP, with the M621 and junctions 44 and 45 of the M1 on the doorstep. That's the same road network that serves Skelton Grange. Here's what you get:

• 20ft drive-up containers, with room for a full trade's kit, racking and stock
• 24/7 access: the gate opens from your phone, so early starts and late finishes are no problem
• Motion-sensing CCTV around the clock, a gated yard and a padlock with every container
• Rolling monthly terms: take a container for the phase you're on site, and give 14 days' notice when you demobilise
• One monthly price with no admin or set-up fees. A 20ft is £160 a month plus VAT.
• A deal for bigger firms: bringing several teams? Every container after your third is 10% off.

New Leeds customers also get 50% off their first two months as a limited-time launch offer, one unit per customer.

Not just the big site

Skelton Grange is the headline, but it's only one part of what's happening in this belt of South Leeds. Stourton sits in the middle of the city's industrial and logistics corridor, and when a project this size moves in, the work spreads outwards. Subcontractors take nearby jobs between phases, suppliers hold stock locally, and firms from outside Yorkshire need a base close to the job. If that's you, a container in Stourton is a far cheaper base than leasing a unit. We've set out the sums in container storage vs renting a unit, and there's more on how firms use us on our business storage page.

Get a price today

It takes about 60 seconds to get an instant quote for our Leeds yard, and the exact price arrives by email. If you'd rather talk it through, ring 07375 355233 and you'll speak to the family who run the yard.

Details of the Skelton Grange approval are from Leeds City Council's planning decision of 27 April 2026, as reported by Construction Enquirer, Insider Media and Harworth.