Leeds and the other core cities in the North of England need to work more effectively with each other and central government to deliver growth across the region.
Speaking at MIPIM last week, Leeds City Council leader Judith Blake said there were a number of steps being taken in Leeds to help secure growth – including the One Yorkshire devolution bid which outlines plans for a £125m-a-year, 30-year-deal and a directly elected “mayor for Yorkshire” to be voted in by 2020.
“In making the case for the North very often we compare ourselves to London,” she said. “Now we are at pains to say actually we don’t want investment into London and the South to dry up, what we want to do is work with London and the South East to look at how we can work together. What we’ve looked at in the core cities is that if we just bring productivity up to the average we would add something like £80bn to the economy of this country.”
Blake, who also is also chair of the Core Cities group, added: “HS2 is just as important to London and the South East as it is to cities like Leeds and the North.
“The inclusive growth prospectus is now starting to deliver. It’s about how we can make sure that the growth is sustainable, keeps delivering and puts people at the centre of everything we do.”
Rick de Blaby, chair of Get Living, the PRS operator whose 6,000-home portfolio spread across four sites – including the former Olympic Village in Stratford, E20 – said the city’s proposition had improved significantly with employers and investors moving in.
“A presentation we had in late 2017 was very impressive,” he said. “The city feels it has gone up a significant gear.”
Also speaking on the panel, Shoosmiths partner Simon Meek announced the firm would take a further 5,000 sq ft space at Leeds’s Platform building.
Roger Marsh, chair of the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership, said a stronger economy in every part of the country would reduce national debt and improve the competitiveness of UK plc. “The North is part of the solution, not the problem,” he told the audience on the Leeds stand.
With a more risky political environment and higher development costs in the capital, John Tatham, senior director of GVA Investment Partnerships, said there was a flight to the regions. He urged Leeds and other cities to be “different, interesting, unique, cool, something to talk about”.
Panel
■ Judith Blake, leader, Leeds City Council
■ Roger Marsh, chair, Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership
■ Rick de Blaby, executive deputy chairman, Get Living
■ John Tatham, senior director, GVA Investment Partnerships
■ Simon Meek, real estate partner, Shoosmiths
