Investor interest in city centre residential development will be “the ongoing story of Leeds over the next 24 months” as the city region continues to target a devolution deal with government, according to Martin Farrington, Leeds City Council’s director of city development.
Speaking at EG’s Leeds Question Time event, Farrington said Birmingham and Leeds were drawing strongest investor interest, especially from overseas.
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“Earlier last year I was in China and Hong Kong and you could see, particularly in Hong Kong, where there is a more sophisticated market in terms of understanding UK investment, that there’s interest there.”
To capitalise fully on that interest, Farrington acknowledged the city region needed to strike a deal with government.
“A devolution deal and a regional mayor would definitely give added value to Leeds in terms of securing funds,” he said.
“We saw in the Future Cities Fund that was announced in the Budget recently that a very large chunk was pre-determined to Manchester, Birmingham and Liverpool.
“Really, Leeds needs to be in that position and a devolution deal is very important for the city.”
However, with little political agreement around the shape of the city region, a deal does not appear to be imminent.
“You can either go with a West Yorkshire geography or you can go with the city region geography or you can go with the Yorkshire geography,” said Farrington.
“Yorkshire, in terms of population and economic output, is on a similar scale to Scotland. In terms of the leverage that brings, I think [a deal] would be very powerful.
In a wide-ranging interview ahead of the panel debate, Farrington said Leeds’ office and retail offering were also thriving, with the success of Landsec’s Trinity Leeds and Hammerson’s Victoria Gate offering the city some insulation from the crisis affecting many high streets and shopping areas.
“I certainly think Leeds, as one of the top four retail destinations outside of London, is far better placed than many,” he told the 200-strong audience.
“But it’s still a very changing market where no one can be complacent and we have to make sure that we continue to adapt to that changing market.”
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