Decent article about Leeds' identity here. Is he right about a "darkness" returning to Leeds with the huge blocks of empty city-centre flats etc?
Not bad really. We are a proud city that much is for sure. The comments below by Cerra just shows that people are daft. He went there as a student. With 2 universities and people transferring there from all walks of life and different areas of the countryâ¦you really think its going to be Leeds people really anywhere near the student lot. Youâll find many are put off living anywhere near or even socialising with the little cretins. I think it says more about his personality than anything else when we had a possible Princess go to university here (Chelsy Davy) and also the future Queens ancestry is from here, people do love the city as a whole but obviously there are some dark areas. Every city has that.
I live in Derby. If I could, I'd live in Leeds.... its nice. Every city has a **** bit or two.... even Derby and its not really a city!
I was a student in Leeds and loved it. Lived in a residential street in Headingly, so it was mainly students, but from my experiences of the city alone and nothing to do with the team, it'd be my first option if I were to move anywhere in the country. Love it.
Yeah its rather special here. I was lucky enough to be born here and live here my whole life. I think he’d like me to move to Outwood in the future but I think he’d be ok in Leeds. I love it here. Its what I know and where my family are.
After a bit of research, it seems Mr Clavane may have jumped to a few negative conclusions in this article. Leeds is the only major city to feature on the Centre for Cities 2011 report's top five list. That list includes the cities which will be "better-insulated from the economic impact of the spending squeeze, and have high potential to create private sector jobs". It goes on: "buoyant cities like Leeds and Bristol, which have been fast-growing and have lots of private sector jobs, are best placed to lead the UK’s recovery. It’s time these places had new financial freedoms such as full control over the local business rate, and new powers to raise money." The claim about empty city-centre flats in the Guardian piece is also wide of the mark, as Leeds (along with Manchester) has experienced a rental boom leading to an occupancy rate comfortably in the 90%s. Leeds also had the best employment rate growth of any large city between 2009-10, the re-employment rate was higher than that of London, Sheffield, Manchester and Edinburgh, and weekly earnings have grown above the national average.
you may laugh billyboy but thats where I grew up. But it is a scum hole but only i get to call it a scumhole.
Leeds will never drag itself back down into the dark, depressing city that it was in the 60s and 70s, it's moved on too far. God - that makes me sound reeaaaly old...
My daughter spent last year doing a foundation course at Leeds Uni, she rented one of the new build waterside flats just outside the city centre. She negotiated £100 a month of the rent, with the first three months at half price and most of the flats on her floor were empty. She's now at Manchester Met and has got a similar deal on a flat on Salford Quays, where there's also too much capacity. Leeds, Birmingham and Manchester have thousands of empty new build flats between them, the developers got a bit carried away.
According to this report, occupancy is now at 99% in the Leeds citycentre flats, up from 92% last year due to the rental boom. I suppose the waterside ones your daughter was at might have been one of the emptier bunch which has since improved. They certainly aren't in a great location if they're the ones I'm thinking of near the Royal Armouries Museum.
It must have improved then, she was actually at the Whitehall Waterfront building on Riverside way, it's not near the Royal Armouries.
Must say that's not a great area either, especially after dark. Unless you're in the prostutition business that is.
Well, two streets away over the Beeston side of the river, not directly outside the flats. Can see why that area might be one of the emptier ones.
