Meadowfield Auto Centre in Ponteland on another awards shortlist

https://www.northumberlandgazette.co.uk/business/meadowfield-auto-centre-in-ponteland-on-another-awards-shortlist-9143652

The latest announcement continues an impressive run of recognition for the small independent garage based on Meadowfield Industrial Estate run by Stephen and Ellie Browne.

Earlier this year, it was shortlisted as a finalist in the Garage of the Year – Best Single Site category at the Automechanika Garage Awards.

Ellie was recently named as a finalist in two categories at this year’s Woman in the Motor Industry Awards, with the results of those accolades still to come.

Now the focus has turned back to the garage itself as Meadowfield has been named a finalist in the Independent Garage of the Year category at the Motor Trader Industry Awards 2026. This year’s ceremony will take place at the five-star Grosvenor House Hotel on Park Lane, London

This accolade recognises best practice, innovation and professionalism among non-franchised repair garages from across the UK.

Entrants are required to demonstrate their performance across areas including profitable trading, workshop utilisation and customer retention, supported by financial information and customer testimonials.

Stephen said: “When we found out we’d reached the Garage of the Year final earlier in the year, that was a massive moment for everybody here. Then Ellie received her two nominations and now we’ve found out Meadowfield is going to another national final.

“We're trying not to get carried away with it, but I think the team are allowed to be a little bit proud.

“One nomination is fantastic and you’re incredibly grateful for it. But when completely separate organisations start recognising different parts of what you’re doing, you do begin to feel that maybe all of those little things we’ve worked on over the years are adding up.

“We haven’t suddenly started doing things for awards. We’re still opening the doors every morning and doing exactly what we're here to do – looking after cars and looking after customers.

“We just have a mentality here that there’s always something we can improve. Sometimes they’re big changes, but more often they’re tiny things that nobody outside the garage would necessarily notice.

“Put enough of those differences together and hopefully they add up to something worthwhile.