Leeds

Introduction

Leeds is located in West Yorkshire on the river Aire. The Leeds district is the second largest in England, and the largest settlement in West Yorkshire. It is also one of the largest financial and legal services centres in England and one of the region’s major cultural centres. 

New industries such as retail, call centres, offices and media have contributed to a high rate of economic growth since the early 1990s. In the late 1990s dot-com boom, Leeds became one of the key hubs in the emerging new media sector.

Recent Visits

Demographics for Leeds

Mid-2007 Population Estimates

Figures updated annually. Last update February 2009. Source: Office for National Statistics.

Children and Learners

• over £2.3m has been allocated for the development of extended schools in 2009-10
• under the first wave of the Building Schools for the future (BSF) programme, Leeds has been allocated £212m to refurbish 15 secondary and special schools in the city.  Work is due to be completed in phases between September 2008 and September 2010
• Leeds has been awarded Beacon Status as a result of its healthy schools programme with additional funding to help promote it as a model to other towns and cities
• announced in May 2007, a £12.4m grant provided eight secondary schools in Leeds with the latest technology. The investment was funded  by Partnership for Schools, the agency responsible for delivering the government’s school renewal programme
• as part of a £9m national share of funding allocated to 41 local authorities, Leeds is to receive £300,000 to help parents of pre-school children to get more involved in their education
• Leeds is to spend £1m creating a team of ambassadors to teach the city’s schoolchildren the importance of the world of work. The money is being made available as part of the LEGI (Local Enterprise Growth Initiative) programme

Health and Well Being

£220m is being spent in redeveloping and centralising cancer services which included the building of a dedicated Cancer Unit at St James' Hospital that opened in early 2008.

Crime

• Leeds has been named as one of 40 priority Respect Action Areas in England, for being a council who has a strong record in tackling anti-social behaviour. The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) is also backing the scheme with £6m of funding in 2007-08 for parenting classes in the 40 areas
• over £1.2m has been allocated from the Basic Command Unit Fund (BCU) for 2008-09 to provide resources that the police force can use locally to tackle crime that matters most to the local community
• Leeds Drug & Alcohol Action Team (DAAT) has been allocated over £2.7m for 2007-08 from the Drug Intervention Programme which helps offenders off drugs, into treatment and away from crime.

Transport

• £20.6m has been allocated for Integrated Transport and Maintenance in Leeds in the West Yorkshire 2009-10 Local Transport Plan settlement, announced in November 2007
• £65m has been allocated for two major schemes: £50m for a scheme providing the final link in the Leeds Inner Ring Road, from the existing Stage 6 to the M621 and £15m for the East Leeds Link Road, a scheme providing a link from the M1 at Junction 45 to the East of Leeds. The Inner RIng Road Link was officially opened in November 2008 and the East Leeds Link Road in February 2009
• £18.7m was allocated for the West Yorkshire Education Transport’s Yellow School Buses scheme expansion. Building on successful pilots in the Hebden Bridge and Ilkley areas, the fleet will be increased to a total of 150, serving around 100 additional schools across West Yorkshire. The scheme was completed in March 2008
• work on the £20.7m A65 Quality Bus Corridor is due to start in autumn 2009. The scheme involves two and a half miles of new bus lanes, and new pedestrian and cycle facilities

Social Inclusion and Regeneration

• an extra £35.7m has been allocated from the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund to help tackle the deep-rooted problems faced by the most disadvantaged communities in Leeds
• nearly £33m has been allocated for 2009-10 under the Supporting People programme, offering vulnerable people the opportunity to improve their quality of life by delivering high quality and strategically planned housing-related services which complement existing care services
• £2m was allocated to Leeds Children’s fund for 2009-10 to help support five to thirteen year olds at risk of social exclusion, with a further £2m for 2010-11
• £7.4m has been awarded to Leeds under the Local Authority Business Growth Incentive Scheme (LABGI), a Government Scheme that awards councils that are successful in encouraging business growth 
• Leeds has been awarded Beacon Status as a result of its work on promoting financial inclusion, with additional funding to help promote it as a model to other towns and cities
• £1.4m is being made available to encourage businesses to start up in disadvantaged parts of Leeds. The scheme will offer loans of up to £5,000 to help business people take the first steps on the ladder, provide the use of the services of a business mentor and help with bookkeeping, marketing advice and legal support. The scheme is being run in conjunction with Leeds City Credit Union, Leeds Local Enterprise Growth Initiative and the Business Enterprise Fund

European Funding

• almost £600,000 has been allocated from the European Regional Development Fund funding for the Corridor Enhancement Programme to refurbish premises on a number of arterial roads into Leeds city centre. This safeguarded 15 jobs and created 42 new positions
• £1.1m has been awarded to two community regeneration projects Emmaus Leeds providing accommodation and job skills/experience for homeless people in a former primary school and Visual Arts Centre arts based project, which is based in a former church social club, both are  based in one street on the edge of a highly disadvantaged community

Source: Office for National Statistics. Last updated 23 June 2009

Internet links

• Neighbourhood Statistics
• Regional Snapshot