Plans for new '˜Waterfront District' in city

The West and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce says in a report entitled Leeds: A Waterfront City? that, while the city is home to excellent waterways in the shape of the River Aire and the Leeds-Liverpool Canal, they are currently too much of a ‘hidden asset’ and in large part inaccessible to the public.

In particularly it cites areas around the station as being too dimly lit, with poorly maintained footpaths and prone to anti-social behaviour.

And with the city’s railway station now boasting a south entrance and an increasing push to develop the South Bank area as an extension of the centre, the chamber said that the time was now to invest in improving their appeal.

To improve matters the chamber recommends a number of measures, including pop art projects along the banks, clean-up programmes for so-called “grot spots” and the establishment of a Waterfront Charter for the city which would follow a similar model to the approach taken by the city to clean up the 2015 floods, with council and business leaders taking charge of the process.

Tim Waring, director at planning consultants Quod and lead for the chamber’s Waterfront Report, said: “It is important we make the most of Leeds Waterfront becoming the heart of what is fast becoming a thriving business district.”