{"id":293,"date":"2010-09-06T09:12:25","date_gmt":"2010-09-06T09:12:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/leedscd.wordpress.com\/?p=293"},"modified":"2010-09-06T09:12:25","modified_gmt":"2010-09-06T09:12:25","slug":"leeds-knightsbridge-of-the-north","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/realisedevelopment.net\/index.php\/2010\/09\/06\/leeds-knightsbridge-of-the-north\/","title":{"rendered":"Leeds – ‘Knightsbridge of the North?’"},"content":{"rendered":"
John Baron over at Guardian Leeds is running an interesting poll<\/a> at the moment, asking about whether Leeds City centre is sanitised and sterile, whether we should welcome the development of yet more retail space in the city and whether Leeds should aspire to be the Knightsbridge of the North.<\/div>\n
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And I am genuinely surprised that the majority of pollsters seem to\u00a0think\u00a0that the ‘Knightsbridge Strategy’ makes sense….(NB the poll is still open so perhaps things will change).<\/div>\n
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As one who remembers when the Merrion Centre was new, and has seen several new developments ‘revolutionise’ the retail experience in Leeds, I am far from certain that they have helped to achieve any real progress for the city.<\/div>\n
I can think of worse fates than to be the ‘Knightsbridge of the North’ – but not many.<\/div>\n
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It will commit us to a long term strategy based on retail infrastructure development and we will witness the ‘old’ centres going to the wall as newer, bigger more glamorous centres come to take their place. \u00a0The centre of retail gravity will shift around the city as too much capacity fights for too little footfall.<\/div>\n
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Developers, planners and builders will be happy. \u00a0So too will the politicians as they can keep announcing the ‘creation of new jobs in construction and retail’. \u00a0And those of us that can afford to buy our way to consumption fuelled temporary contentment may enjoy it for a while, before the more or less inevitable existential crisis, or whatever we use to keep it at bay, eventually gets us.<\/div>\n
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When I am working with people on\u00a0their\u00a0personal and professional development I ask them three questions:<\/div>\n
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  1. What do you want to have?<\/li>\n
  2. What will you do in order to have it?<\/li>\n
  3. If you do that what will you become?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n

    In the case of Leeds the answers seem to be:<\/p>\n

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    1. We\u00a0want\u00a0to have – A prosperous economy based on\u00a0tourism\u00a0and retail (finance may still be crucial but is no longer flavour of the month), creating lots of low paid jobs and providing a great playground\u00a0for those with\u00a0disposable\u00a0income<\/li>\n
    2. What are going to do so that we may have it – Pursue ever greater\u00a0retail\u00a0and leisure development projects. \u00a0Allow our city to become a giant\u00a0retail\u00a0hoover to suck up capital from across the north and put it in the pockets of\u00a0retailers\u00a0and developers who can afford to play the game.<\/li>\n
    3. What will we become if we do this – The ‘Knightsbridge of the North’. A northern simulacrum of a London suburb where the ‘haves’ can flaunt their wealth while the ‘have much lesses’ work the tills and warehouses and the ‘have nots’ are pushed out of sight. A city where the gaps between the rich and poor continue to rise, but GVA, like exam results, continues a relentless rise. \u00a0Where we rely on trickle down and\u00a0Victorian\u00a0philanthropy to retain an air of decency.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Often with personal and professional development the secret to getting a better future is to start the process with question 3.<\/p>\n

      Then, ‘what we do’ and ‘what we have’ might just serve our dreams rather than sabotage them.<\/p>\n

      That is why it is so important that we get a Vision for Leeds<\/a> that works for all of us in the city.<\/p>\n