ABOUT
LEVELLING UP AND UK CITIES
Future Cities Forum Levelling up Hub
(Image above: courtesy Rushbond of City Square, Leeds)
Our levelling up hub brings together city leaders and investors to bring about change for the economic prosperity of the UK.
It is through this digital space that all our event research is gathered from our levelling up events during 2022 and very importantly where an inclusive range of voices are heard and connections made. Join our online zoom discussions as well as our physical forums throughout 2022.
The UK government is supporting the levelling up agenda and organisations such as the Bank of England and the UK Infrastructure Bank are expanding their presence in the city of Leeds as a result.
Future Cities Forum is holding its first levelling up event in the city this month at the offices of global law firm DLA Piper. Please check this site for content to be posted from that forum, giving a platform to Leeds City Council, West Yorkshire Combined Authority, The British Library and Channel 4.
We are in Manchester in June and Birmingham in July for events and interview panels.
Contact us to profile your city here and invite investment to your region.
https://twitter.com/CitiesForum
The image below shows Temple Works which The British Library is planning to renovate so that it can extend its collections and create an important cultural and educational destination. (image courtesy: Leeds Civic Trust)
Read our interview report with the British Library's Head of Culture and Learning, Jamie Andrews, by clicking here for our 'Cultural Cities' report with the DCMS
LATEST REPORT | futurecitiesforum
The City of Leeds
Leeds City Council says it has the UK’s fastest growing city with a regional economy worth £64.6 billion. Over the next ten years, it says, the economy is expected to grow by 21%.
In one area of the city, investment is supporting new apprenticeship training and job creation at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust this year, targeting the most deprived areas of the city. The new Leeds hospitals’ scheme is among 40 new hospitals the UK government has committed to build by 2030 and the trust is one of the largest employers in the Leeds region, with 20,000 staff, playing a leading role in research, education and innovation.
However, there are general questions around the lasting impact of the pandemic and whether the UK government’s scaling back of HS2 with affect levelling up in the city.
Will investment in new offices attract employees back to the city, will infrastructure measures be put in place to ease city congestion and create greener transport, can Leeds grow its brand to become the UK’s go-to centre for professional services and science innovation and can the city create a day to night entertainment culture that supports visitor spend?
On 11th May 2022, Future Cities Forum is being hosted by international law firm DLA Piper at its Leeds city offices in Princes Exchange, for debate around the future economy, infrastructure and cultural regeneration of the city.
The firm has committed to take 80,000 square feet of prime office space at a new £85 million development on Wellington Street close to the Leeds city station and Channel Four’s new home at the Majestic in City Square. The new office is described as state-of-the-art, fit for the post-coronavirus era, blending technology, open plan design and a roof garden. The council has stated that the move is a vote of confidence to redevelop one of the key gateways to the city.
Join us for panel discussions with leading figures who influence the future of the city and for networking at the start and end of the morning.
Headline contributors include:
Leader of Leeds City Council, Cllr James Lewis, West Midland Combined Authority’s Director of Policy and Development, Liz Hunter, DLA Piper Partner, Andrew Clarke, Bruntwood’s Head of Strategy, Jessica Bowles, The British Library’s Head of Culture and Learning, Jamie Andrews (overseeing the BL's northern campus developments), Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust’ Head of Strategy, James Goodyear and the University of Leeds Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Professor Nick Plant, Historic England's Head of Region, Trevor Mitchell and Channel 4's Managing Director, Nations & Regions, Sinead Rocks.
https://twitter.com/CitiesForum