The Mayor of Colchester, John Elliot, was guest of honour at the reopening of the Kwik Fit branch in Colchester following a major refurbishment.

Mr Elliot was introduced to the team at the North Station Road site before officially declaring the centre open.

The revamped centre, which offers a full range services including tyres, exhausts, brakes, MoT testing, car servicing, air-con and windscreen repair, now has specialist laser wheel alignment equipment that allows a car’s wheels to be aligned to the manufacturer’s specification.

In addition, the reception area has been completely redesigned to create a more welcoming and customer-friendly environment, where staff can sit down with each customer and discuss their requirements.

The mayor said: “The investment that the new owners of Kwik Fit have poured into the local centre is very good news for Colchester and its motorists. The town is very fortunate that the company selected the North Station Road branch for refurbishment with all the latest technology and equipment over hundreds of others.

“It’s commendable that there’s an apprenticeship scheme in place to give unemployed young people a helping hand by creating jobs and giving them some valuable career skills. I hope young people in Colchester will see the benefit and apply for the programme.”

Centre manager Tony Lyons said: “It’s given the staff a real boost that our hard work has been recognised, and that our centre has been given major investment. All the team at North Station Road take great pride in our work and now we have a working environment that matches our ambition to deliver the best possible service.

“It’s also good news for the community because we are now armed with top of the range equipment that will allow us to serve our customers even better than before. We are all really excited and can’t wait to get going.”