Yorkshire Emerging Development Hotspots – Summary, slides, and photos
The Yorkshire Emerging Development Hotspots event unearthed the county’s wealth of opportunity, whether that’s how Coldplay choosing Hull for a gig can influence a future travel plan, or how the age of Bradford’s population will lead to an economic boom.
Showcasing York’s skills
Garry Taylor highlighted the action in York. Credit: Place Yorkshire
Garry Taylor, director of city development at City of York Council, may have only been in post for seven weeks, but he was up to speed on its “exceptional brand recognition”. He said it’s the most skilled city in the north where 48% of people are in “top skill categories” and named four key strengths – the UK’s rail innovation hub, bioeconomy and green transition, a high value professional services sector, and its digital and creative industries.
In terms of opportunities, he cited York Central, which he says has been “30 years in the making” where infrastructure is now going in, adding: “What is core to that is a significant amount of investment opportunity; residential, innovative hubs, commercial and creative elements.”
He also highlighted the “historic fabric” of Coney Street which he said will “reopen the city back to its waterfront” and the reimagining York’s streets: “How the space works, how events are managed, and how the public realm is reinvented and reinvested.”
In terms of housing, York has a target of 20,000 homes by 2038, with a minimum of 20% affordable.
Hull’s “new chapter”
Wynne-Hague from Hull kickstarted the presentation from Hull. Credit: PY
Kath Wynne Hague, head of culture, place and city centre at Hull City Council, and her colleague Gill Osgerby, project director, said their 10 year masterplan is exploring how outlying areas can be used better, where community engagement is key.
“Hull is a city where the city centre core has a strong identity but its neighbourhoods are disparate from that,” said Osgerby. “We are also looking at how we link with our housing teams, economic development, and health and wellbeing.”
Key development sites include the East Bank Urban Village which will be residential-led mixed use, including 850 mixed tenure homes, making the most of “waterfront assets”.
There’s also Albion Square, with an NHS community diagnostic centre offering 27,000 appointments a year from this summer. Phase two of this will reinvent a former department store, with its listed Alan Boyson murals, with ideas including residential, retail, hospitality and education.
All this development is “hand in glove” with a major cultural and heritage strategy, “reconnecting as an international port city” and “maximising music tourism”. Wynne Hague added: “Culture is more than just what you see. Neuroscience says decisions are made by your emotional response.”
Shouting about Sheffield
Sheffield’s Sean McClean highlighted Sheffield’s hotspots. Credit: PY
Sean McClean, director of regeneration and development at Sheffield City Council, outlined targets of 38,000 new homes, of which 25,000 will be in the “central core”. He specifically mentioned Attercliffe which has “suffered long term decline” but now “has a new opportunity to forge a new identity. He also referenced Attercliffe Waterside, the location of the landmark Banners department store, where the first phase has planning permission and commercial elements are being prioritised. “It is not just building homes, it is creating a new neighbourhood,” he said, referencing hopes of growing the number of residents by 5,000 and creating 1,500 new jobs.
Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park was also singled out. McClean says its reinvention will bring together “expertise from academia, elite sport, the NHS, alongside public and private sector organisations” at a local and international level. Recent completions on the site include the community Steel City Stadium, an advanced research and wellbeing centre run by Sheffield Hallam University, Canon Medical Arena where local people can participate in sports and events, and access diagnostic health services, and the National Centre for Child Health Technology developing integrated healthcare systems.
He added: “South Yorkshire now benefits from investment zone status and we have ambition to lever in significant public sector funding to grow the advanced manufacturing sector and create 8,000 new jobs. A spatial core has been identified that runs from Sheffield city centre through the east end corridor to Rotherham.”
“Be more Bradford”
David Shepherd underlined how Bradford is embracing its culture. Credit: PY
David Shepherd, strategic director of place for Bradford Council, has plenty to say about how his location was getting away from a “deficit-based narrative”. He explained four drivers: the 1.3 million population, connectivity through the Bradford Rail Programme, “regeneration that gets the place forwards”, and the impact and legacy of its status as UK City of Culture 2025, which is now three months in.
He discussed its diverse population, a quarter of which is aged under 20, which they “need to turn into economic advantage”.
In terms of major schemes, One City Park was named as a focus for the office sector, while Darley Street Market is being used to “consolidate the market offer” with a food hall and trading space. City Village is creating “a different look and feel for Bradford” with ground floor retail enhancing £30 million investment from Homes England.
The Bradford Live former Odeon space was also highlighted as a £50 million asset with a new operator. If this, plus the neighbouring Alhambra and nearby St George’s Hall, are hosting events on the same night, that’s an additional 7,000 people in the city centre.
Other schemes include the £60 million Transforming Cities Fund works, a “huge pedestrianisation scheme”, a new “game changer” rail station with access to Manchester in 30 minutes and Leeds in 12 minutes, and the Southern Gateway, 144 hectares where “a lot of growth will come from”.
Loving Leeds
Mills also highlighted how important transport is for a city. Credit: PY
“A city of opportunity” is how Mark Mills, chief officer for asset management and regeneration at Leeds City Council, described £6 billion of large scale development projects taking place over 15 years. His presentation slides looked at 12 key destinations, including the striking Leeds Trinity, the former Tetley site at Aire Park, Victoria Gate shopping centre and Wellington Place.
He talked a lot about transport and affordable housing, adding: “Leeds is a bit of a donut. It has a vibrant city centre then a rim area with established communities separated and not integrated from an economic and social and physical perspective. It’s not just about housing, it’s about the wider economy.”
He also discussed brownfield opportunities where “land can be put to better use”, supported by transport and infrastructure, with a mass transit scheme which is the “glue that links all the opportunities together”.
Looking beyond the city centre, he also reference Leeds Enterprise Zone, the East Leeds Extension, and the area around the airport which he said offered “really exciting opportunities that haven’t yet been scoped out”.
Who’s ready?
L-R: Spawforth, Ford, van der Veen, and Stuart. Credit: PY
Sally Gibson, editor of Place Yorkshire, asked a developer-focused panel: “What makes an area ready for regeneration and development?”
Steve Ford, regional managing director for Yorkshire and the North East for Caddick, referenced the event speakers’ city showcases and said: “Everyone of the cities seems to have a clear identity or unique selling point as to what they are trying to achieve. The thing that underpins all of that is they’ve recognised that we have to invest in the infrastructure, connectivity and the development that comes along with it. The fact that each has very clear projects with funding is music to my ears as a contractor.”
Adrian Spawforth, managing director for planning consultants Spawforths, said: “In the 1980s, we looked as a nation to America, a society with retail parks and out of town shopping centres, industrial centres outside the city limits. We hollowed out our city centres and we are living with the consequences. What’s really exciting is to hear the enthusiasm for city living again. It’s a world that’s transforming a mindset.”
Leah Stuart, director at Civic Engineers, said: “Vision often starts out really powerful in the beginning to deliver fantastic healthy outcomes for communities. Ambition has to follow that trajectory and what sometimes happens is that can get watered down, with ongoing costs and maintenance, or if it’s not what people are used to. It’s having a joined up approach within the councils to deliver and ensure they’re onboard to deliver that excellent outcome, holding the line and holding your nerve.”
Quizzed about community input, Joanna van der Veen, technical director and northern lead for AECOM, said: “In an ideal world, it shapes it from the beginning, doing the engagement to understand what issues are going to come up so you can de-risk your projects, but there’s also an element of identifying opportunities, looking at what people want to see in their areas, so you can capture that, identify the funding and make sure it’s a viable scheme. It’s not just going and saying ‘what do you want?’ Its managing expectations.”
Click image to launch gallery
- The panel at the event discussed what makes an area ready for regeneration or development. Credit: PY
