20 Statistics
1. Leeds City Council need to save £150million over the next four years
2. In 2001 Leeds had a population of 715,600. The revised population estimates for mid-2008 show that the population has increased to 779,300, an increase of 8.9% from the 2001 figure.
3. Covers 552 sq km, and is the second largest Metropolitan District in England
4. \the largest employment centre with 422,400 people working in Leeds. The service sector employs 357,600 people and Call centres in Leeds employ around 18,000 people.
5. 133,000 employees work in city centre; 32% of all employees in Leeds
6. In 2009, the number of claimants was 23,300 compared with total unemployment estimated at 31,600
7. The median gross weekly earnings of Leeds residents was £395 in 2009, with £465 for males and 326 for females. 10% of full-time workers earned less than £270, while for part-time workers it was £43.
8. 58,300 people of all ages are from the minority ethnic groups - 8.2% of Leeds population
9. There are 107,000 school children in 263 schools
10. University of Leeds ranked among the world’s top 100 universities.
11. It is the city's third largest employer and contributes some £860m to the local economy’
12. Has 8,000 staff and over 30,000 students from 130 countries
13. Leeds Metropolitan University has almost 30,000 students and 300,000 associate students through its network of 24 partner colleges
14. The combined totals of learners give Leeds one of the largest student populations in the country with over 250,000 students
15. In 2008 there were 24,190 active businesses (VAT/PAYE) – second only to Birmingham
16. 36 PLCs in Leeds and with over 50 elsewhere in the region
17. There are 335,643 properties in the city of Leeds of which 19,213 are void (5.72%)
18. There are 5,653 city development units of which 933 are void (16.5%)
19. Over last 10 years, city wide office space on the market increased from 2.5m sq ft to 4.6m sq ft. Currently 650,000 sq ft Grade A accommodation available in city centre
20. 5 miles of shopping, with 980 shops. UK's fifth largest shopping location by retail floorspace
21. Over 900 trains and 90,000 passengers pass through Leeds City Station each day.
22. Average house price of £176,000 in 2009, with the cheapest 20% averaging £110,000. Average house price just over five times average earnings
20 FACTS
1. Trinity Leeds is a £350million shopping & leisure destination in Leeds City Centre due to open in spring 2013. Trinity Leeds will feature 120 units for major UK and international retailers, including many brands new to Leeds. It’s estimated it will bring a £10million rejuvenation of Albion Street. An estimated 3,000 people will be employed in retail related positions.
2. Leeds is ranked 23rd ‘best European cities to locate a business’ in the European Cities Monitor. The city’s office market has retained its position as number one in Europe for value for money, for the third year in succession. The European Cities Monitor is based on interviews with senior executives from 500 of Europe’s biggest companies and looks at the range of factors considered by companies when deciding where to locate their business operations. Key factors are cost and availability of qualified staff, access to markets, external transport links and quality of telecommunications
3. Leeds Arena is due to be completed at the end of 2012 with the venue opening early 2013. Leeds Arena will help to draw in visitors and boost the local economy to the tune of £25.5million per year. Construction at the arena's Clay Pit Lane site near the Merrion shopping centre is due to start later this year.
4. LEEDS Art Gallery has announced it is to host a major exhibition of works by world famous artist Damien Hirst from July to September 2011.
5. The housing market in Leeds continues to be very healthy compared to similar local authorities but there are places where decline still persists. This can be for a variety of reasons including economic deprivation, social exclusion and anti-social behaviour. In these areas there tends to be a higher level of empty properties. http://www.leeds.gov.uk/Council_Publications/Council_property.aspx 6.
Leeds Council employs officers wearing red hi-vis jackets to patrol Leeds to help the public.
7. Leeds. Home of the best tall building in Europe. Broadcasting Place, home to Leeds Metropolitan University's Faculty of Arts, Environment and Technology, beat off the globe's tallest building – Dubai's Burj Khalifa – to scoop the accolade from the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.2010
8. It is the only English city outside London with its own repertory theatre, opera house and ballet companies
9. Leeds Town Hall was designed by Cuthbert Brodrick and opened in 1858 by Queen Victoria.
10. Leeds Civic Hall is a civic building housing Leeds City Council, located in Millennium Square. The design was the result of a competition held in 1926, which was won by Vincent Harris. Work began in 1931. Costing £360,000 to construct, it is notable that due to the Great Depression, most people employed in its construction would otherwise have been unemployed; therefore the building's construction was used as job creation, an example of Keynesian economics.
11. We can trace the history of Briggate from 1207. Maurice Paynell, the Lord of the Manor of Leeds, granted a charter to 'his burgesses of Leeds' to build a 'new town', and so created the first borough of Leeds
12. The County Arcade has been restored to its former glory, and in 1990 Victoria Street was given a new and beautiful glass roof, forming yet another arcade. All the shop fronts, names, and street furniture are in keeping with the original Edwardian design of Frank Matcham. The site of the old Empire theatre is occupied by Harvey Nicholls store.
13. 1780-1850 The Industrial Revolution comes to Leeds. Matthew Murray pioneers the engineering industry in Leeds, Benjamin Gott brings all the processes of woollen manufacture under one roof at his factory at Bean Ing, and John Marshall sets up as a flax spinner in Holbeck. http://www.leodis.net/discovery/default.asp 14. 1922 BBC broadcast from Leeds
15. 1964 Merrion Centre is opened
16. Leeds Civic Trust recognises that what we build today will be tomorrow's heritage, and that encouraging good modern development is as important as ensuring that the best of the past is conserved. A voluntary, non-political body, open to everyone who wants to participate in and influence the planning of Leeds.
17. The football team, Leeds United is based at Elland Road. Currently 5th in the Npower Championship league
18. As with most of the eastern counties of England, Leeds is a relatively dry city, with an average of 660 mm of rain falling annually, which is drier than New York City, Sydney and Rome
19. Yorkshire Post Newspapers Ltd, owned by Johnston Press plc, is based in the city, and produces a daily morning broadsheet, the Yorkshire Post, and an evening paper, the Yorkshire Evening Post
20. Chris Moyles, Sir Jimmy Savile, the actors John Simm, and Peter O’Toole are amongst the famous people born in Leeds
21. Gilded owls -The 2.5-metre-high gilded owls on top of the Civic Hall have looked over Leeds since 1933, they are now joined by four more. One pair overlook Millennium Square and the others guard the Portland Crescent entrance to the Civic Hall. The new additions are based on the original art deco owls and were cast in bronze and gilded by Burleighfield Arts.
Thriving
Opulent
Rich
Historic
Contrasts
cultural
Garish
Bustling
Variety
Energised
Vast
Academic
Sucessful
State of the art
Traditional
Diverse
Popular
The Knightbridge of the north
Evolving
Developing
20 Opinions
Councillor Wakefield, said: “The fact that this is the first major retail-led
development in the UK to get the go-ahead since the credit crunch, speaks
volumes for Leeds and the confidence that long-term investors such as Land
Securities have in the city’s future.” http://www.trinityleeds.com/news/council.pdf- Francis Salway, chief executive of Land Securities, said in an announcement that starting the project now will allow Land Securities to take advantage of cheaper construction costs and strong demand from prosperous retailers who are struggling to find new developments to expand into in leading cities.
- leedsinitiative.org/opinions on 2020 vision
- "The quality of Trinity Leeds design and the aspiring retail line-up will give Next an unparalleled environment from which to trade. I am confident that our Trinity Leeds store will be one of our very best in the UK." Andrew Varley, group property director for Next
- Broadcasting Place,Julian Gitsham, from architects Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios said: "We always wanted to take a really bold decision. We think it's fantastic when it gets a strong reaction."We love the material. It lasts well, it weathers well, it's got a beautiful tactile nature to it, but you either love it or hate it.
- "I love, love LOVE this building. When you think of the horrors just down the road (Opal and Sky Plaza) it's enough to make you weep. I guess this will be the last tall going up in the city for a few years now, so at least the building boom ended on a high :) Ordinary Paul on Yorkshire Daily Photo website
"No-one should underestimate the catalyst this arena wil provide to the regeneration of the city and the confidence of retail and leisure sector. Its location will pull people through the city centre to the tune of an estimated one million people a year. "It is not a coincidence that Land Securities' Trinity scheme has restarted work and other important developments are starting to see life again - do not underestimate the importance of Leeds Arena in helping to deliver those schemes for the city." Former council leader Conservative councillor Andrew Carter- Posting this here too....A voice of one?
The audacity with public money is breathtaking. Local funding for schools and sports facilities shelved; redundancies looming for public sector workers; key services cut back while we have to watch our local politicians donning hard hats and “bigging-up” this nonsense monster. They were probably blowing “investment” fanfares for the now demolished Metro University building when that was built. Just like they were blowing their vuvuzelas when Leeds United were going to morph into a world class football team with a new stadium to boot.
If David Cameron wants “A Big Society” and a greater say for people on local issues, then the thousand opinions cited as "public consultation" for this arena is disingenuous. A regional referendum would have enlightened these Leeds City Council "investors" as to where the money should be spent. http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/Leeds-Arena-vision-VIDEO-TOUR.6468061.jp
- Of course it will be a major economic player. It has to be. It will have to suck up hundreds of thousands of pounds every week in ticket sales. It will have to be branded and hyped. My vote would be for ‘The Marks and Spencer’ Arena to reflect Leeds noble retail heritage. Hundreds of thousands of pounds that, yes, will pay wage bills, will pay for a supply chain and will provide a return to investors and managers. It will be fascinating to see how much of the cash hoovered up by the Arena will actually be retained in the city. My guess is that much of it will leave the Leeds economy. http://leedscd.wordpress.com/2010/08/12/leeds-arena-winners-and-losers/
- I am not against the Arena. But neither am I for it. What I am against is the continuing massive investment in the built infrastructure in the city that seems to imply if we can just get the right buildings in the right place we will get progress in our very wonderful city. We won’t. If I were in the council or a development agency I would still be arguing to develop Leeds as a producer of culture and wealth rather than as a consumer of it.
by Mike Chitty on August 12, 2010
- The most successful examples…[of economic and community development]…result not from top-down policies imposed by local governments but from organic, bottom-up, community based efforts.
Richard Florida – The Great Reset
- Leeds’ music scene seems to have flourished without an arena – Live at Leeds, the Leeds Festival, Party in the Park and numerous gigs in between. Perhaps the Arena will do well as a sports, performance venue, but it seems to have little support from the music sector.
Personally, I hope they’ve planned some useful conferencing facilities…Leeds lacks a great city-centre venue for 500-1000 delegate conferences.
"Come April 1 we have very little money and it's going to be quite a challenge to keep the organisation going. We also need to be an organisation that's still capable of making an impact and bringing fresh investment into the region, otherwise there's no point.
"I am convinced that Yorkshire is one of the most creative areas in the world, but I find it quite difficult to understand how that bridge will be built if there's no central agency there to promote the region." Sally Joynson, chief executive of Screen Yorkshire - responsible for inspiring, promoting and supporting a successful and sustainable film, broadcast, games and TV- at the Queens Hotel, we heard how Leeds is a city full of fantastic contradictions, creative and brilliant conversations on and offline and real complexity. But how do we make it work better and create a dynamic dialogue? Posted by John Baron Friday 26 November 2010 07.00 GMT guardian.co.uk
