Commission on the Future of Local Government . . . can Leeds be the best city in the UK?

60 comments

1. Two quick points.

   Firstly, shouldn’t that last sentence be reversed? It’s not about making us proud of the council, but how the council can make us proud?

   Secondly, how can people be proud of what they don’t really relate to. I showed the press releases and the Executive Summary of that Commission thingummy to my neighbours. They are great people, care about the neighbourhood, are involved in the community, you know the type. The response to the document was a yawn and a quick change of subject. I’m sure the indifference wasn’t anything to do with the content – everyone is behind the ideas – but how can you talk about “engagement” in such a dull, undramatic, and frankly boring manner? If you want engagement there’s one simple trick . . . be engaging. Actually, that’s not a trick, is it?

   There’s a lot of talk about “untold stories” in all of this. Might be a good idea to focus on telling a better story, it’ll get the message across a lot better than committee speak.

   1. Good challenge as ever Phil. Food for thought re storytelling that we need to address. Lots of the Comms the public sector produces is aimed too much at a typical “informed” office worker rather than the vast majority of people we’re aiming to engage with. We know we have to change that, not least to engage with our front line staff.

2. Thanks for the post and engaging. Personally, I’m happy to be proud of and be part of the city of Leeds (as I have been now for over half my life). I want to work to help make it better. I think that linked open data is key to many improvements we can make not just in public services, but also in more private enterprise. I look forward to working with others to develop and use linked open data for the benefit of us all. One way we may get funding to help with this is via the UK government Technology Strategy Board Catapult Initiative. There are a few ideas about how to address this. One that suggests developing an organisational map of Leeds as Linked Open Data can be found via the following URL: http://bit.ly/MmupRb
   I hope this is of interest to some.

   I also think that any sort of league table ranking of cities is a bit of a nonsense, a bit like rankings for universities and schools. I appreciate that some measures of success are useful for managing resource and configuring services, but most of this quantification and ranking stuff is taken too seriously in my humble opinion. We can all seek to improve on what we have and what we intake and we can learn much from developments in other city regions as well as our own. Keep up the good work Leeds and please support each other going forwards.

   Peace be with you.

   Best Wishes

   Andy

   1. Thanks Andy. Actively considering open data opportunities, especially on healthcare.

3. It’s good to aim high. But while agreeing with the aspiration of making Leeds ‘the best city in UK’ it is also pretty meaningless and, depending on how you define it, unrealistic to imagine that Leeds will ever complete with London; or even overtake other major cities in the near future to be recognised internationally as ‘the best city in the UK by 2030’ (City Priority Plan 2011-15).

   To be a truly international UK city, not even the best, and ‘rediscover the spirit of the original civic entrepreneurs’ it would have to have a truly international airport (and railway connection to it, as mentioned in previous city plans). Without this Leeds will continue to struggle to compete with many other cities in terms of attracting wealth, business and improving its standing.

   1. Hi Paul – the Best City vision is deliberately ambitious but also allows flexibility for others to decide what that means. So for us it means we need to be the Best Council and we’re getting clearer about what that might mean. One example is to try to become a Child friendly city where there’s quite specific UN standards like giving young people a greater voice to influence decisions. We’re doing that.

      And v aware of the veiws about the airport. It is expanding with investment and we have the London link back. More to be done tho.

4. Tom, lovely as it is to hear from you can I suggest that Leeds tries to be the best city in the North instead of 3rd or 4th. It really is difficult to know where to start with all this.

   Paul is right that our glorified nissan hut pretending to be airport – without any major transport links – is a massive handicap. Compare that to Manc with a train station at the airport and a tram soon to arrive or Liverpool John Lennon which once was as crap as our ‘airport’ until they scored some serious cash to build a great new terminal.

   Can we please stop going on about the Olympic torch for the LONDON games being some city changing event. Where is the infrastructure that the torch farce left behind it? Btw…have a pop over to East Manchester to see how genuine risk taking can regenerate an area much more deprived than anywhere in Leeds.

   Finally, when you mention social contract do you mean Big Society lite or volunteers doing stuff that the council used to do. I think Phil has blown a gaping hole in that argument.

   I think Leeds has a huge amount going for it, but now we have political stability, and people like you who are prepared to have a dialogue let’s get our house in order before trying to the UK’s number one.

   1. I think Leeds is a brilliant city in many senses and stands up against its Northern neighbours, but I know you and others don’t share that view. Judge us on what we’ve achieved over the last year: doubled apprenticeships, much more investment like the Arena, £90m cuts without a compulsory redundancy, best parks, free city centre wifi on the way, etc.

      Don’t think my argument is shot by Phil saying tell a better story. Any big challenge today requires a new relationship between Council, citizens, business, third sector. See the reaction to our Commission nationally and it is said to be ground breaking. Example – the work we’re doing with Families to let them sort out their problems via Family Group Conferencing and action with the police to reduce burglaries by 17%.

      Thanks for the challenge.

5. Firstly, I think this is real progress but it needs deeds and structural change in local government to become a reality.

   Secondly, well done for setting the bar high on what Leeds should be. A completely anti-Yorkshireism!

   And not so finally a few quick points.

   I think there needs to greater clarity regarding who are the real strategists at a local level. Is it councillors or council workers? The public generally believe it’s councillors however in reality they often act as a layer of governance to council workers strategies. If council workers are to be the strategists then there needs to structures in place to ensure that fresh ideas are continually brought to the fore. Having previously spent 8 years as a civil servant in Central Govt I found that this just doesn’t happen.

   If we are to become the best city we need to move away from giving large corporations carte blanche in delivering regeneration. A platform should be created to enable individuals or local societies to deliver it. For instance, where we have inadequate housing why not entice people to rebuild these properties and reward them through reducing or paying no council tax.

   Sort of linked to the first point but if we are to become the best city then we need the best strategies. Still too many strategies are overly pragmatic. One such is the emerging city centre transport strategy for upto 2030. Why not have a strategy that is built around a fully integrated public mass transit (adjective agogo) transport system linking all local tourist hotspots, communities and business centres. At the mo it’s just 2 trolley bus routes plus maybe a tram train to the airport. Why isn’t an airport link part of HS2 when every other city seesm to building spurs?

   And finally, if they are to be redeveloped, build a public park on the roof of the Kirkgate Market halls 🙂

   1. Really interesting point re Councillors and workers. Councillors have a democratic mandate and should set political strategy and officers have organising capability. Both are to me the missing links in the Big Society concept that local govt can help address. We’re doing interesting stuff on Empty Homes.

      Hope for more progress on transport and the market soon.

6. Thanks for the mention Tom. Bettakultcha is very proud to have built up in Leeds, most other places it would have been nigh on impossible. However, the torch, while lovely and all that. Brought little more than a brief spectacle to the city, chips for the poor if you like. Nothing sustainable (sorry for that word) will come off it. No investment in local jobs or culture will come because the torch travelled nicely through Leeds.

   The council needs to get out of people’s way and let them be creative, let them utilise the under utilised services, buildings and spaces instead of building more bleeding shops to compete with the next town/city/hamlet who just got funding from that London for another thing to placate the locals.

   Sorry for being a curmudgeon. And thanks for the mention again.

   1. Hi Richard – of course the Torch was just passing through but what a great spectacle and one in four people came to see it. It didn’t happen by accident either. We’re leading lots of work on trying to get investment and jobs in Leeds – on retail, health, digital, and yes small businesses too. And its really difficult.

      Council is constantly challenged to step in and step out of the way. Getting that balance right a priority for me.

      1. Personally, I enjoyed a community atmosphere as the torch relay passed us outside Inkwell on Potternewton Lane. The weather was great and it was a memorable cavalcade and fanfare. It gives us something that I will try to build on as I raise the excitement of the games for the kids especially as the games begin. The police squad from Grimsby were great. They were the happiest bobby’s on the beat I’ve had the pleasure to meet in a long time. It was surely one of the better jobs they’ve had to do. I think we have a lot in place in Leeds to ride the wave of enthusiasm for sport that comes with hosting the event. Cheers!

         1. Great to hear Andy. The good natured banter with the police was definitely a much-remarked element of the relay.

      2. Hi Tom,

         Thanks for replying. You have a thankless task to honest, there are so many people pulling you in this direction and that you’ll never please everyone. The attitude which needs changing is the old one that things are the way they are and always will be just because.

         I’m afraid that’s the attitude for a lot of people in the council and government in general. Small business and organisation are the big business or tomorrow. The red tape and platitudes need to go. But people with vested interest in the status quo won’t give up with out a fight.

         Can Leeds help to change that. Only time will tell.

         1. Indeed Richard only time will tell. All I can say is that £200m of cuts over three years means no part of the Council will be unchanged and that many, many people are doing difficult jobs well. I’ve been with another 100 staff today – I’ve had face to face sessions with around 6,000 since I arrived – and the message of change and better engagement is the one I give. As you say, time will tell, but days like today show we are changing and getting results for it.

7. I agree entirely with what Paul Clarke has written above.

   It actually makes me quite angry to hear a leader of the city talk in such vague terms about an absolutely unquantifiable and pointless desire. How can Leeds become the UK’s “best city” when the term is completely immeasurable? How can Leeds become the UK’s best city when it’s lightyears behind even its closest rival Manchester, let alone London.

   I’m certainly not saying Leeds needs to be aiming to be like the capital – it never could be and besides the sheer size of London means it also has problems far greater than Leeds, but whilst Leeds is a fantastic city, with lots going for it, it could be so much better.

   Like London, Manchester is increasingly becoming a global player with world class facilities, infrastructure, transportation and cultural offerings but I don’t think Leeds even comes close. The council should concentrate on improving these things, along with the other more hidden (yet essential) public services, rather than coming up with ridiculous abstract targets and yet more marketing spin.

   Regarding the Olympics, I really don’t think the people of Leeds or the council have much to celebrate. £11bn spent on yet another excuse to regenerate of an area of London. Any northern city council in their right mind should be shouting from the rooftops about the injustice. Imagine what could have been achieved if Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool and Newcastle had shared £11bn of investment between them.

   I’m almost embarrassed to say that I was one of the many people who turned out to see the torch. I’ll admit, the atmosphere on the street was quite exciting but what followed was a five minute convoy of advertising by multinationals followed by a person running with a flame, flanked by a completely unnecessary amount of security. I can’t imagine I was the only person who went away feeling disappointed.

   Call me cynical but I see the torch relay as nothing much more than propaganda to perpetuate the idea that the whole country is part of, and benefiting from, such a marvellous event. In reality, this is the London games and nothing else, yet further widening the north / south divide.

8. Guess I won’t change your views, but there is a detailed set of measurable objectives that sit behind the Best City ambition covering health, crime, jobs, housing, environment, etc (see Council website). I’d estimate no Council in the country is investing more in infrastructure, transport, capital improvements, cultural faciltiies and vital public services.

   As for the Olympics, of course we won’t benefit anywhere near as much as London, but think we’ve got to play the cards we’ve been dealt and participate. One Council is making the case about the injustice of public spending for the North and set up a Commission of experts who’ve just proposed the Barnett formula should be changed – Leeds.

   Thanks for the challenge.

9. Hi Tom,

   I think the goal for Leeds should be to be the best city it can be rather than being the best in the UK by improving areas already mentioned by yourself and other posters.

   With the council in particular, you have to question how effective it is operationally in order to achieve the success that it and the city desires. A prime example is how much of an impact individuals such as Emma has had with Culture Vultures and everything else it has spawned and created bringing a huge network of people together across the city, promoting, creating and bringing awareness to events that otherwise might have happened or been made more accessible. Compare that success to that of council promotion and events then it shows a bit of a gulf.

   Your open discourse on here is a great start and hopefully it will be filtered through the council system and create a transparency across the board rather than fitting the paradigm of councillors in their ivory towers. Discourse with successful private entrepreneurs across the city could potentially help the council to streamline and improve their services in a way that would help the city become even greater and make us proud of our council.

   Thanks for posting and engaging with us.

   1. Understand the message Chris. Best city is designed to inject a bit more ambition and urgency to what was perhaps a complacent culture at times. Today we have the first big result from that team effort, with the NGT and City Deal announcements.

      I don’t see what Emma and others have achieved as an indicator of Council weakness. It’s surely an indicator of their success. We run events that attract tens of thousands of people and get generally good quality feedback. Can we run them better? Of course we can and we also need to change the way we communicate.

10. Hello again Tom,

    Since I posted yesterday, I’ve been thinking and I wanted to try be a little more constructive. I understand that the council sometimes has to settle with the cards they’ve been dealt with, and despite areas I think there could be greatly improvement in, I think there are things to be positive about going forward.

    By far the biggest priority for Leeds at the moment is getting an integrated transport system in place. I’m not sure NGT is the answer, for one, the main route it plans to serve is already well catered for by buses and a train line (though that needs huge investment in itself), secondly there’s still the problem of people’s negative connotations of buses putting people off using them, and thirdly, in its current state, the system’s routes are very limited meaning the city will not really be integrated, particularly people wanting to travel across suburbs, rather than via the city centre.

    In the all too likely situation NGT is rejected later this month then I hope there are already ideas of new submissions. Hopefully the new devolved powers awarded to cities will give Leeds more options, meaning NGT can be quickly expanded or the city aims for something more befitting like light rail or something completely revolutionary.

    I’ve also been thinking recently how good it would be if Leeds was to undertake a mass planting of new trees to line its residential streets, as is already the case across much of the central north and north western areas of the city. They’re obviously great for the environment and improve the public realm hugely, something many of the less desirable suburbs badly need.

    Looking more specifically at public realm in the city centre, the Headrow badly needs redeveloping – in my option it should be the city’s grand boulevard and in time should be fully pedestrianised, along with Vicar Lane outside of the market. I’m sure the inevitable bus rerouting could be sorted out easily enough.

    In terms of cultural offerings in the city, I think that’s where Leeds is severely lacking – we’ve got the shops, the bars and the restaurants but Leeds is increasingly becoming all about spending money. It was nice to see the Leeds Museum open but it is admittedly very lightweight. We should think about attracting a new national museum to rival that of the Media museum in Bradford or Science Museum in Manchester. We’re supposedly home to the first ever moving pictures, why on earth are we not shouting this from the rooftops with a dedicated facility? We have a rich industrial heritage yet the Armly Mills museum is very small time. We recently saw what the fabulously atmospheric Dark Arches could host in the form of Overworlds and Underworlds – why is there not something more permanent?

    Also, the museums and attractions we do currently have are quite hidden, badly publicised and badly connected. I genuinely think a large percentage of Leeds citizens have probably never even heard of the Medical Museum and yet it’s probably one of the best attractions we have. An integrated transport system would undoubtedly help matters, but I just think we need to cater to both citizens and tourists alike, showing people what we have to offer and how they can get there.

    And finally, I think the council also needs to be more vocal in the decision making process of new buildings. In recent years, Leeds has seen some truly dreadful buildings erected – bar a few exceptions, the skyline is awash with plastic looking lego blocks, with tiny windows, boxy rooms and little architectural merit. They’re designed purely for maximum profit for the developers but I’ve no doubt will become the 60s buildings of tomorrow. Leeds is crying out for something more – buildings which care about the people living and working inside them. And how about some more glass, particularly on the more noticeable tall structures?

    If we can address these sort of issues then for me, Leeds would truly be on its way to becoming a truly great, exciting and vibrant city. But the “best”? Difficult to define, even more difficult to achieve and ultimately unnecessary.

    1. Hi Thomas – as you say below NGT has finally been given the green light. This is brilliant news for the city. I believe the failure of Supertram and now this saga had become a psychological chip on Leeds’s shoulder, and so I am delighted that we have a breakthrough on this and the City Deal, which will allow us with our neighbours to consult with people like yourself about how we can make sure NGT is just the first step to a top class integrated transport system.

       Really like your ideas on trees and cultural attractions. We are interested in how we can continue to improve what we’ve got, though real improvements have been made. We get a million visitors to the City Museum for example.

11. Tom

    Firstly, thank you for taking time to respond to all these comments. It’s testament tot the changes I have seen over the years in Leeds, its outlook and ambition. Thank you.

    Personally I applaud the ambition that you and the Council have to making Leeds the best city in the UK. It is absolutely achievable, it is absolutely ‘measurable’ (after all, how can one say another city is better or worse than Leeds if that’s not the case) and it is a great rallying cry to get everyone behind.

    Lots of the comments made above reflect the neglect of Leeds by previous officers, Councillors and the public in its own city. That we now have officers and Councillors who wiosh not only to reverse this, but also strive for titles like ‘best city in the UK’ or the UN child-friendly status, is to their credit. The least we can do as the public is to back the ambition. It is that backing, for example, that helped bring the Olympics to London. The lack of real interest from New York (I was lucky enough to be there during the run up to the decision, and there was half the PR and marketing around it than in London) lost them the Olympics. My hope is public apathy, and the ease of seeing the bad without also recognising the good, will not diminish or damage what the Council is now seeking to achieve.

    There are many comments from the people above I disagree with, but I do recognise in every one of them that they have the potential, if they wish, to help you in your ambition. We absolutely need to have a critique of the process and its progress. But it needs to be from critical friends, not just critics.

    Please don’t water down the ambition: it is what will make Leeds a great city. #LeedsLeads

    1. Thank you David – I really appreciate your sentiments and support.

       I do feel there are large numbers of people who’ve given up on their Council and engaging in civic life, and my job is to try to turn that around. I welcome challenge – it’s a good job!! – and I respect all of the comments on here. But the option is there for people to participate and to get in the tent and help us.

12. UPDATE:

    Have just seen that NGT has just been given the green light. Despite my concerns, I’m more than willing to support the scheme – the sooner this gets built and the system later expanded into new ares of the city, the better. Finally Leeds is to have something new and unique that could put Leeds on the map in more ways than one. All in all, an exciting day for the city.

    1. New Generation Transport (NGT) http://www.ngtmetro.com/

13. I have lived in Leeds all my life, with stints in Sheffield and London, but the best city in the UK sorry we ain’t every going to compete with London and Edinburgh.

    I too believe, to echo what other posts mention, is that this is just Marketing spin.

    I grew up in a suburb of Leeds that is now a shadow of itself. Many of the suburbs have been abandoned Seacroft, Bramley, Holbeck (let’s tear these back to back down and then … nothing), Beeston, Belle Isle, Middleton, I could go on , all completely abandoned by this council and previous councils. There is a no regeneration plan for these areas and the only place Leeds leaders and councillors are bothered about is the city centre. Let’s make it all look like the Victoria Quarter.

    Let’s just take one point Tom Riordan makes, that the council takes “an economic role to help stimulate jobs” well low paid retail jobs that Trinity and Eastgate will deliver are not the sort of jobs that bring wealth into the city, the only wealth they deliver is to their shareholders. A shinier M&S food hall …. oh happy happy joy. The councillors and Tom Riordans Exec Office can’t fall over themeselves quickly enough when big big property developers roll into town (Land Securities and Hammersons) but have all but abandoned independent traders and those in Kirkgate Market.

    As for the Arena it’s at the wrong end of town. There was a deal to build it in Sweet Street, near the station, which would have been more logical, not in Little London where no-one can get to it. And it’s costing us £50 million.

    I know a lot of people snipe at the council but it’s for good reason. I have many, many dealings with the council and the culture amongst many Leeds councillors is “we know best, run along now”. It’s an arrogance that is almost unique to Leeds – the rejection of Gormley’s Brick Man is a classic example of how backwards looking we have been in this city for decades.

    Regeneration is about jobs and infrastructure but it as also about realising that the economic landscape has taken a dark and dangerous turn. The Asdafication of Leeds, with Andy Clarke the CEO of Asda as Chair of Marketing Leeds (and a PwC director as his deputy) and the plastering of the recent Food Festival with Asda adverts is completely the wrong direction to go in.

    Sorry, Mr.Riordan but you’re turning Leeds into a giant shopping mall just at the time when big chain retail is on it’s knees. What we do need is a reassessment of the Leeds Vision planned long before the financial collapse. It’s aims are just not relevant now. We used to manufacture stuff in this city we had the biggest crane manufacturer in Europe in Rodley, built tanks in Seacroft and the clothing industry was spread through the city. The satelitte towns were pit villages. All that wealth and industry has gone and was never replaced and couple of Take That reunion gigs and a Nandos is not what we need. Where’s the radical vision. No seriously where is it, because the Wal-Mart philosophy hasn’t really worked, but for Leeds City Council that appears to be the only plan they have. Retail, superfast broadband and nice green spaces may be pretty but we’re living in harsh times where the ability to have a nice picnic and download a film a bit quicker is just making us all a bit more delusional about improving Leeds.

    I’m really sorry to sound so negative (no I’m not really) but this plan is not a plan it’s a giant installation arts project. I’m proud of my city and that is why I am so angry about what is being done in my name. It’s nice to see the effort Tom Riordan had put in speaking to you lot at Culture Vultures but most of you seem to think radicalism is making Leeds a child friendly city.

    1. Well John you clearly feel completely disillusioned with many things.

       I make no apology for supporting the redevelopment of the city centre and investment that will bring thousands of new jobs into the city that many young people from the most deprived parts of the city will be actively trained to take advantage of. We are also investing more in Kirkgate than has been the case in the last 20 years.

       If you take some time to look at the work we’re doing in the city it isn’t just about retail. We have brilliant, world class manufacturers in Leeds – the largest centre outside London – and we might not make tanks anymore but we make medical instruments, digital technology and automotive components that are the best in the World. We are supporting manufacturers and building on the assets we have in the city so that we have a diverse economy in the future covering retail, manufacturing, services, construction, social enterprise and more.

       Let’s leave Brick Man behind and look at what we’re supporting now – excellence in the Playhouse with an inspiring new Director, Opera North and Northern Ballet the envy of other cities outside London. Yes we need to do more to support smaller creatives but that is starting with Duke Studios and the like and there’s more to come.

       If the Arena is at the wrong end of town, why haven’t the Merrion Centre, the universities, the Museum and the Carriageworks failed? It has access to thousands of car parking spaces and it’s not far from the train station. And we will we getting a significant amount of rent paid back to the city every year. Moreover, it will be a state of the art, theatre style, brilliantly lit, quality acoustic Arena that will mean people won’t have to trail across the Pennines every time a major act is on.

       Child friendly city is radical and it puts families and people at the heart of our vision for a city that doesn’t have the inequalities that mean today that someone lives 12 years longer in a rich rather than a poor area.

       I respect your views and can see that you’re proud of your city. Why not get involved and help us if we’re doing so badly in your eyes? Change things with us.

       1. Glad to hear the council are supporting Duke Studio. Can I ask how precisely and is this support open to other microenterprises
          in the city?

          1. We consider any applications for support, particularly ones that can assist several enterprises at once.

       2. Couple of quick points on the Arena. Will the rent payable to the city more than cover the interest on loans taken out by the council to pay for it? I am not sure what the definition is of ‘quality acoustic’. I was told by the project team that it was a standard pop/rock acoustic and not at a standard for good classical performance.

14. I think we’re going to have to agree to differ. I’m sure a protracted argument is not something either of us want but I must push the redressing of balance between independent traders and big business (especially retail) in Leeds they can live cheek to jowl but we need to give support the the small guy as the Yanks would say and our council just doesn’t do that.

    1. Let’s do that. Thanks for your reply and point v much taken about smaller independent traders.

15. Tom,

    Congratulations on city deal and the commission report. I love the concept of civic enterprise and its reciprocal application between public and private sectors. Over-centralisation has infected big business as much as it has government, and in both cases it leads to a terrible waste of human potential. Maybe Leeds City Council can now show private sector service organisations the way.

    I’m also delighted to see you name-check Matthew Murray as an example of a great industrialist. I suspect Murray wanted much the same things as today’s start-up founders – skilled employees, good communications links, access to funding and as little as possible to do with the local authorities.

    Living before the great Victorian municipal era, Murray’s heart was probably more in Holbeck, where he settled and was buried, than in the wider borough of Leeds. While he exported widely, building a strong relationship with Russia in particular, it’s not clear that Leeds celebrated his contribution at the time. Some of the city’s more established grandees actively undermined him, and to this day the statue in City Square is of his patent-trolling arch rival James Watt.

    All of which makes him exactly the right example to cite. If a penniless, uneducated Matthew Murray walked from Darlington to Chapel Allerton today, as he did in 1789, what kind of the welcome would he receive at the Nag’s Head? And how would he know he’d just arrived in the UK’s best city?

    Matt

    1. Just take a look at the welcome that the city gives refugees and asylum seekers who have travelled much greater distance to come to Leeds. Perhaps 1000 of them destitute.

       1. All I can say is that the Council – despite the cuts – has retained its service to help asylum seekers and refugees integrate into the city. I have met over 100 of them at a couple of inspiring events. You should talk to the excellent Rachael Loftus for more details.

    2. Now you’re the kind of storyteller that Phil is talking about! Much better than I can muster!

16. Hiya everyone.

    Tom, would you be able to provide the link to the Future of Local Government results document on the council website? I’m afraid I can’t find it and would like to read the document first before commenting.

    Elly

    1. Hi Elly – try http://civicenterpriseuk.org/commission-final-report/

17. Hi Tom
    There’s absolutely zero chance of Leeds being ‘best city’ if we allow the situation regarding sites for Travellers to remain unresolved For the ten years I have been at GATE nothing has really changed despite constant civic effort by Gypsy and Traveller people and many others beside. We can be the best. We can be a beacon of progress and problem solving, can’t we?

    1. I didn’t realise that gypsy/traveller provision was the universal measurement for ranking cities.

       1. The only test of ‘best city’ is not a position in a league table, but some very personal answers to a complex set of questions, which may include….
          Is this the ‘best city’ for me and my loved ones?
          Is this the best place for me to make a life that will allow a life of fulfilment, dignity and pride?
          Will I find people that are willing to challenge and support me with compassion?
          Will I find opportunities to be stimulated, provoked and changed?
          Will I find it possible to connect with others with whom I have common cause?
          Will I find the space and support to do my best work?
          Will I find myself in a political, social and cultural system that reflects my values and beliefs?
          Will it encourage the production of goods and services necessary for a becoming existence or will it do almost anything in pursuit of GDP?
          Will it respect and nurture micro-enterprise, sole traders, makers, community groups and individual activists as much as it ‘establishes proactive relationships’ with ‘large corporate employers’?
          Is this a place where I can help to shape a better future for my children and theirs?

          What kind of ‘city development’ processes would be necessary to allow the majority of us to be able to answer most of these questions with a yes? I suspect not the kind of physical infrastructure development that seems to consistently win the day.
          Get the development processes right for everyone and we might just be on course for somewhere exciting.

          1. I agree we shouldn’t compete in an imaginary league table Mike, and I’m sure any assessment we make of our city needs to take account of the complexity of social, cultural, economic, environmental and other considerations.

             We’re making efforts to develop the city in a way that puts people, especially from disadvantaged communities, at the heart of what we do, for example via our work on apprenticeships, the Child Friendly city work and the new City Deal initiative on skills and jobs. Undoubtedly on many questions you ask though, we have a long way to go, and we need to work harder.

    2. I understand your concerns Helen and, as you know, we are actively considering solutions to what is a complex issue for the city.

18. Hi Tom,
    What a fascinating discussion. We haven’t met, though we have occasionally spoken on Twitter.

    I totally agree with others that there are huge issues about housing, connectivity with the city, especially from poorer areas and all kinds of social issues. But my take is as one involved in the creative arts – so apologies if that’s the narrow from which I’m coming from with my comments.

    Leeds folk get very chippy about comparisons with Manchester, but the fact is we have so, so much to learn from our rival across the Pennines. I know Manchester very well – my best mate and my sister live there and my wife works there. I was talking to a TV producer who knows a lot of the creative community in Manchester and he was telling me that what the council did about 15 years ago was realise that they needed to put creative people right at the heart of the city’s ‘regeneration’ – so it wasn’t just shops and business. They decided that they needed to stop trying to compete with other Northern cities – they were going to compete with other European cities. And that meant having a real breadth of creative ambition. And boy, are they reaping the results of that decision today. Could anyone really imagine Leeds hosting something as audacious and ambitious as the biennial Manchester International (note the use of that word!) Festival?

    The sense I get is that Leeds has a handful of brilliant creative people beavering away as best they can, but they are not at the heart of the city’s vision about itself. You mention Bettakultcha, which is a quite wonderful idea and brilliantly executed, but – no offence to Richard and Ivor – that’s a pretty DIY enterprise. So is most of the interesting creative stuff happening in Leeds, it seems to me.

    Essentially, we are a decade behind Manchester in terms of where we need to be with the creative arts. Because an exciting culture life is what makes a city – not shops. It is the ONLY thing that differentiates you from a million other cities with their identical high streets and identical coffee shops and so on. Yes, we have a few great flagship institutions – WYP, Phoenix, Opera North and so on – but we are not yet punching our weight. I thought it was very telling that the Quay Bros discovered that none of our major creative institutions had ever collaborated before doing Overworlds/Underworlds.

    There is another problem and that’s a long-term, almost totally ingrained pessimism and lack of self-confidence. You hear it creative discussion. I’ve heard it both from groups and individuals. And whenever creative people have sessions coming together to talk about the city (I’ve been to a couple of those type of things), the same conversation seems to happen over and over. Why does Leeds lack creative confidence? Does Leeds have an issue with its own image?

    In fact, I’ve sometimes wondered if that’s even a Yorkshire thing as much as a Leeds thing. I went to university in Sheffield and good god, I’ve never lived in a place with such a chip on its shoulder about how it’s perceived by the outside world. You think Leeds is bad – you should try Sheffield!

    I also have a personal connection to that sense of resignation because of my job. I’m a television scriptwriter who got his first break working for Yorkshire Television in the late 90s. Back then, it was a vibrant creative hub and a very exciting place to work. It was slowly wound down and neglected by ITV and as we all know, it’s now gone (Emmerdale aside). What astonished and continues to astonish me is how such an important institution as YTV was allowed to without a fight. I couldn’t believe how little the city seemed to care. I couldn’t believe how little was said by city leaders. I didn’t understand why no one was lobbying ITV. Under Michael Grade’s disastrous leadership, the company was being vandalised. The point about YTV was that it was actually one of the most profitable parts of the business. It was just that it was far enough away from London and they needed to make cuts after the disasters of OnDigital and buying Friends Reunited. Grade guessed rightly that no one would make much a fuss. And Leeds didn’t. It shrugged its shoulders. I thought that spoke volumes for the city’s sense of its own culture history. YTV made programmes in the city for 40 years. We were an centre of excellence for post-production and our crews’ abilities were legendary. That’s gone for good and it will never, ever return.

    What that also now means that for my wife (who also works in the industry) and myself, we live in a city that we’ll never work in. My wife travels to Manchester and London for her job. I work here from home, but all my commissions and working relationships are also Manchester and London based. I love Leeds, I love where I live, I think it’s a great place to bring up kids and I love the proximity to the countryside and there are so many great people here. But I feel increasingly disconnected from the city creatively. I’m just someone who happens to live here. I have no creative stake in Leeds and it has none in me. I think that’s sad.

    I’m encouraged by your attempts to have this discussion, but I hope this will be a warts and all examination of where Leeds is at and how it can become something better – both for all of us who live here and for those who want to visit it because it something worth experiencing. We have a very long way to go…

19. On Monday 5th March I attended Social B2B as part of my duties as a youth ambassador for Future Arts. This event was graced by Tom Riordan, Leeds Community Foundations CEO Sally-Anne Greenfield and many more folk.

    Later that evening I had to deliver my own speech at Social B2B and I’m pleased to report back to those who didn’t attend that I received a great response. Unfortunately the brief frenzy I caused hasn’t had any impact since because I’m still struggling to thrive creatively in the city and largely ignored by potential employers across the whole of Leeds. Things will most likely remain this way forever because people obviously don’t value what I do and I’m easily replaceable if I stop doing the things that I do. The worst part is that I’m aware of all this because it’s on my mind every second I’m awake. All I can envisage for myself in Leeds is a bleak future where I’m bitter about everyone else getting their hand up and not me.

    As always I’m more concerned about other people than myself. I’m genuinely concerned that this city’s arena is merely getting built to make already rich musicians even richer. Fine, there’ll be a lot of entry level jobs created as a result of this arena, but I doubt those jobs will go to the long term unemployed who need those jobs more than the recently unemployed and those already in employment. It’d be nice if the long term unemployed were prioritised for change, but they’ll no doubt be given the same old excuses why employers in this city continue to neglect them. We have to stop neglecting our long term unemployed if Leeds is going to be the best city by 2030. This can be done by giving the unemployed reasonably paid jobs rather than excuses.

    We still need to be bringing entertainment superstars to this city and that’s what this arena will achieve. However we also need to be creating superstars in this city too. It will be very neglectful if the emerging talent in this city feels that performing at the biggest venue is out of reach. This city looks after its up and coming athletes really well and it’s about time we did the same for up and coming creative artist too. If the sportsmen of Leeds United and Leeds Rhinos can attract crowds of thousands every week, then so can our musicians.

    In my heart of hearts, I hope that in 2030 someone will read this comment out at the conference marking the end of the Leeds Initiative project and the audience laughs at the absurdity of it all. The people running the Leeds Initiative no doubt have the money and resources to make this vision for the city look like it’ll be a success by then. Then again Emma Harrison made A4e look like it has been a success for years. If by some miracle of miracles the aims of this project are successfully fulfilled then Leeds will be the talk of citizens throughout the entire world rather than just a clichéd collection of career politicians, bored businessmen and the odd token citizen who has benefited. Meanwhile I’ll be in my early forties by 2030 and will possibly be earning a living in a menial job because no-one in Leeds gave me the hand up that I needed to be successful. The entertainers I’ve come across will possibly be in dire circumstances too if things remain the same.

    I’m sure I’ll get my date with the Deputy Prime Minister (he endorsed one of my ideas earlier this year) eventually and I can let him know of all the knock backs my ‘entrepreneurial spirit’ has had over the years whilst living in Leeds. I should have gone on to better things by now but I have the misfortune to be living in a neglectful city. Whenever this city continues to be neglectful to its creative artist remains to be seen and I guess we’ll all find out in 2030. In the meantime I look forward to my concerns being seen to, but I won’t hold my breath and will be expecting some predictable mantra.

    Thankfully a media organisation out of the city has decided to take me on and I’m just impatiently waiting for the starting date now.

    Finally the amount of creative people that come from Leeds and have to earn their living elsewhere is astonishing and needs to be noted. Having said that, all the best for fulfilling the aims of the initiative and I hope it’s a success story.

    1. Damon

       It saddens me to hear your story. I remember that night and I’m really disappointed that you haven’t managed to get the support you’ve looked for.

       Unfortunately this is the situation facing so many young people, and we’re trying to address the issue by making it a priority for our recently agreed City Deal with Government. This links in expanding businesses and new jobs to young people who need help the most.

       I’m pleased for you that you now have a job, even if it is outside Leeds. I hope we can work to turn around the prospects for people like yourself and I will reflect further on what you’ve said here.

20. Hi David

    A great post full of well made and heartfelt views.

    I can only give my own perspective but the points your raise range widely to challenge wider partners than the Council.

    I agree – and have said publicly many times before – that we should learn from what Manchester and others have done well, and replicate it where it makes sense. In Leeds’ defence, the City Museum, the Tiled Cafe, the Carriageworks and the Grand Theatre (all YF projects – I have to say that) were all key parts of the city centre regeneration of the last decade. We now get a million visitors to the Museum. I think you’re right, though, that we haven’t put creativity perhaps as boldly at the heart of regeneration as we could have done. Allied London’s approach to Clarence (or now New) Dock and the plans for the Carlsberg site might start to change that in a physical sense, but I think you raise a more fundamental point about how talented creative people feel about these efforts. Too many of those talented people have either left the city or not got involved in championing it. I don’t think they’ve felt valued by the city.

    That’s one thing Adam Ogilvie, myself and others have tried to put right over the last year or so. As far as we’re concerned, the door is open to anyone who wants to get behind the Best City vision and start to change Leeds for the better. Leeds Inspired is one part of a great deal of work to try to protect the arts and culture from the worst of the cuts. Frankly, I think too many people choose to ignore the Council’s ongoing support in difficult times for the Playhouse, Opera North, Northern Ballet, and others. The cuts are so severe in the North that we are having to question the very reason why local government exists – hence the Commission report – but creativity and culture remains central to our plans. And we are challenging those larger bodies to work with us, and together, for the greater benefit of the city.

    I think it was a tragedy for Leeds that YTV was dismantled and I was one who said so to the most senior people at ITV. There is a lot I could say about that period but it was not just the city who was silent.

    Finally, I agree that there is something about Leeds and Yorkshire that is frustratingly not as self-confident as it can be. Maybe that makes us more endearing! But we have to get out there more and support success. The Screen Yorkshire Fund gives us an advantage, I’ve met Archie Norman (on my initiative) and he is keen to support ITV’s footprint in Leeds, and Lurene Joseph at Marketing Leeds “gets” what you are saying. I think we’re making progress, and we can make much more.

21. Hi Tom,
    Thanks for taking the time to respond. I hadn’t quite realised that my post was going to cause such a response – my Twitter timeline has gone a bit nuts – but I guess it must have touched a nerve of some kind. It’s interesting that on Twitter, people are very polarised – either strongly agree or totally disagree with the broad thrust of what I was saying. I’ve even been called ‘predictable’ by someone who doesn’t know me, which is certainly a novel experience.

    I would like to make it clear that I’m in no way undervaluing the incredible hard work of everyone who works in the arts or works to support them in our city. And you do give some good examples of creative regeneration. I think the Carriageworks is an excellent example of how a creative institution was formed as an integral part of the Millennium Square regeneration.

    You’re right about creative people leaving the city in the past. When I was writing that first post, I was thinking of friends who’ve left to make a go of it elsewhere, precisely because they thought that Leeds was never going to support their endeavours. Emma made a point on Twitter of mentioning the relative healthy state of the fine art scene with the Leeds Gallery joining PSL and East Street on the landscape – and that’s clearly an area that’s improved hugely.

    The problem we have is that we squandered badly the years when regeneration money was around and, if, as you’re saying, there’s a new attitude from key city figures now, it obviously comes at a very, very challenging time for the North under this draconian government. The loss of YF must be a hell of a problem. I’d be interested to know what the plans are for Clarence Dock, because it any site epitomises the poor planning, short-sighted greed and obsession with retail that has shaped Leeds in the last decade, it is surely Clarence Dock. Whenever I visit it, it makes my heart sink: when you think of what could have been achieved there. Poor old Royal Armouries stuck out there in lonely isolation, surrounded by a wind-tunnel of ever decreasing retail opportunities. It’s so staggeringly ill-conceived, you wonder how anyone ever thought it would work.

    I’m glad you agree that there is a mindset at work that we will all have to overcome if Leeds is to grow as a cultural destination. There is that feeling that Leeds is still a mercantile city – and that ‘Where There’s Muck, There’s Brass’ still dominates as an ethos. The proposals for the development of Eastgate, for example, do nothing to inspire. More retail. More privately owned public spaces. No built in creative vision for the city’s cultural life.

    A final example. When Leeds International Pool was up for demolition, I remember talking to Colin Oliver of the Cockpit. He and a number of others were in talks to try and secure the building and turn it into a venue. Many, myself included, were huge admirers of the building’s architecture and it seemed amazing that it was just going to be knocked down. Now I don’t know the ins and outs financially, but the idea of reusing it in a new creative way was brilliant. What happened? The council sold it developers who bulldozed it and it’s now a car park. Every time I drive past it, it reminds me of another squandered opportunity.

    Anyway, mistakes have been made and there’s no point dwelling on them: the key is clearly not to repeat them. That means Leeds has to do things differently in the future. I’m encouraged that you are so open to these important discussions and I do understand the enormous challenges you face in the current climate. We all broadly want the same thing, right? It’s just how to get there.

22. Tom, could I ask where I can find more information on the work being done to make Leeds a more child-friendly city? I’d be really interested in finding out a bit more about that.

    I feel significantly out of my depth with this conversation, fascinating though it has been, but I have to say, when I think of what would make Leeds a better city, improved airport links just never crossed my mind. I doubt it would be at the top of most people’s lists either. I suppose that’s the difference between someone like me who merely lives and works in the city, than someone with a more strategic or business focused brain. Although I use public transport and therefore am happy about the new transport system, many people just simply don’t like sharing their journeys with strangers, no matter what system is in place. Changing attitudes to public transport is a bigger job than just creating a better one.

    On a day to day level, I’d be more likely to think of smaller things to improve living in Leeds like reduced allotment waiting lists (I’ve the mind of a Distributionist on this matter!) and more city centre public loos (which, if you’ve ever tried to find with a small child needing the loo, you’ll appreciate the need for)

    I think that Mike Chitty’s list of things does really sum up the kind of things I’d think about when choosing a place to live. I’m more interested in building a community than building a shopping centre.

    1. Hi David – I think your last comment sums it all up. Many people I know base their views about the Council and the city on what happened many years ago. I’d just ask to be judged on what we do now. I’m two years in to the job in August and we still have a mountain to climb, but we’re in a different period where we need people in the tent helping us. The posts in this blog genuinely have an impact on our thinking.

       Best wishes

       Tom

    2. Hi Elizabeth – drop me an email on Tom.riordan@leeds.gov.uk and I’ll get you the info about our Child Friendly City work. I think from your post that it will be right up your street.

       I mention the new Trolleybus as one thing that will help the city, but I could say so much more about the sort of things we’re trying to do in local communities. Leeds is a federal city with very distinctive towns and villages that make it up, and we want to do our best to retain that diversity and sense of local community. Our neighbourhood networks in those communities that help elderly people are a genuine innovation that we want to enhance going forward, for example.

       Thanks for posting.

       Best wishes

       Tom

23. Can I go now Leeds?

    1. You did ask . . .

24. Fair point. Thanks again for responding, Tom – run away quick before anyone asks any more questions. Happy to get inside the tent, wherever it’s pitched…

25. I have to be honest I skipped over a lot of the comments here mainly because they are nothing new.

    Leeds has great things and even greater prospects and opportunities. It also has some naf things that are missed opportunities. So it’s the same as just about every other city in the world then.

    Leeds looks at Manchester and whinges that it’s better than us. Manchester looks to Liverpool and does the same, christ knows who Liverpool looks to. Again same as every other city, always with one eye on the competition. It’s not a bad thing but it’s not exactly new.

    Look at the postives, the negatives and the competition. What comments on this and many other blogs I’ve read over the years fail to do in my experience, is come up with anything other than a whinge fest where people can sit back and watch Leeds rip itself apart.

    Yes be aware of your situation but be independent, and unique. Be aware of successess, failings and competitions but have enough balls to make bold, brave decisions regardless of it.

    It’s how cities, evolve, adapt and change, by trial and error, learning from themselves and others and moving on.

    It takes leadership, a culture that allows failure just in case soemthing amazing comes from it (for the record the other cities mentioned above haven’t always got it right), and a lot of people working together and sharing the responisiblity. I don’t think there’s a city in the world that’s worked this out yet. The fact that Leeds is trying to my mind, makes it an interesting place to be right now. The fact that most blogs I read are about berating things that happen in the city and badging it as ‘debate’, makes me question this.

    There’s a lot of opportunity coming our way but you don’t get to bitch and moan about what is made of those opportunities if you’re not giving anything back yourself.

26. I don’t think Manchester has looked to Liverpool and thought it’s superior since 1963. And, even then, only for a moment.

    But the point holds. Manchester has made a virtue of comparing itself against Vancouver, Barcelona, Berlin. Not Birmingham or Leeds. Look to the things that make you strong, pick the places worldwide that can be ‘borrowed’ from and ignore regional competition.

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