Leeds City Council’s executive board is to approve plans for a 10-year regeneration project that will see the authority partner with national, regional and local government.
Leeds city centre and five adjoining ‘city rim’ neighbourhoods will be regenerated, delivering 20,000 new homes.
The Leeds Transformational Regeneration Partnership is a 10-year programme of change and investment involving the council, central government, Homes England – the government’s national housing and regeneration agency – and the West Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority.
The partnership is underpinned by the ‘Vision for Leeds’ strategy which was announced by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) following the Spring Budget.
Leeds City Council said the strategy had been developed using existing locally-led plans, consultations and stakeholder engagement carried out by the authority “over many years”.
A council report addressing the executive board said that the plans would help “meet the affordable housing needs of our residents [and] develop the resilience and solutions we need to address the climate emergency”.
On working with DLUHC, the report said Leeds City Council could “achieve deeper and coordinated relationships across government and its agencies, to better influence policy and funding decisions that affect our plans for place-making, infrastructure and the environment in the city and to help develop joined up solutions to issues or barriers to our progress”.
The report also highlighted the “prospect that locally responsive and bespoke funding and policy flexibility can be developed to scale up and accelerate our regeneration and growth plans”.
The Leeds Transformational Regeneration Partnership is a 10-year programme of change and investment. Photo: Leeds City Council.
The regeneration plans include the “revitalisation” of six areas; Mabgate, Eastside & Hunslet Riverside, South Bank, Holbeck, West End Riverside and the Innovation Arc within the city centre. This will deliver the 20,000 new homes.
The government has also allocated an additional £10m, subject to a business case, towards the establishment of a new British Library site at Temple Works, along with working to bring the building into public ownership through Homes England. Also subject to a business case is £5m of new funding towards the delivery of a new National Poetry Centre. Support will also be given to develop the Royal Armouries Museum.
James Lewis, leader of Leeds City Council, said: “This partnership is a significant opportunity for Leeds to build on its nationally recognised track record of delivering large-scale infrastructure projects which support regeneration and build economic growth.
“Working directly with government and driven by our Vision for Leeds and our commitment to inclusive growth, the partnership will act as a positive driver to tackle poverty and inequality, accelerate housing delivery, and provide more opportunities for everyone who calls Leeds home.”
Lewis added that “major improvements” could be won through a “focus on some of the fundamental structural challenges facing the city”. These include improving growth, creating choice and affordability in the housing market, improving public transport connectivity and integration, and leveraging the city’s core economic, innovation and cultural assets.
“The creation of the partnership recognises the unique opportunities Leeds has to offer, and will bring major benefits and growth to the wider region and the country as a whole. We look forward to sharing the benefits of this programme and its economic, social, and cultural legacy for many years to come,” he concluded.
Tracy Brabin, mayor of West Yorkshire, noted that success in Leeds and West Yorkshire would help the UK’s economy “to grow and prosper”.
She commented: “Working in partnership, these plans will help us deliver on our promise of more affordable homes, vibrant and creative communities, quick and reliable public transport, and greater opportunities for our businesses and universities to succeed.
“As our largest urban and economic centre – at the heart of Yorkshire, the North of England and the United Kingdom – the success of Leeds will help us build a brighter region and a brighter Britain for all.”
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