Member Article

ConferenceLeeds discusses what Northern Powerhouse means for Leeds

With the development of the Northern Powerhouse regularly making headline news, ConferenceLeeds has brought together industry leaders from across the city to discuss what a Northern Powerhouse would mean for Leeds as a city and for the conferencing and events sector in the region.

Leader of Leeds City Council, Councillor Judith Blake, said:

“Investor confidence in Leeds continues to grow, with major new businesses being attracted to development opportunities like the South Bank, Thorpe Park, Victoria Gate and the Leeds City Region Enterprise Zone, which are regarded amongst the best of their type in Europe, and helping the city produce new private sector jobs at a rate higher than anywhere else in the UK, including London. The recent announcement of significant investment by Hualing Industry and Trade Group in Thorpe Park is an example of that confidence in Leeds at an international business level. The future of the Leeds economy looks very bright, and as a city we are determined to do all we can to ensure investment equates to regeneration, jobs and skills opportunities for everyone in the city and wider city region to benefit from.”

Associate Director of Visitor Economy at ConferenceLeeds, Jennifer Young, commented on the impact of a Northern Powerhouse on the conferencing sector in Leeds:

“The Northern Powerhouse would enable us to extend the collaborative work we do and the venue portfolio we have in Leeds, across the North in its entirety, in a way that would rival the capital.

“We have already secured several large-scale national and international events for 2016 and beyond including conferences for the British Educational Research Association, International Association of Language Centres and the Tourism and Events Showcase.

“These events show that Leeds is going from strength to strength as a conferencing city, holding over 54,000 events in 2014, bringing an estimated 3.87m delegates to the region, worth around £447m to the local economy.”

Gordon Jackson, Chair of the Leeds Hotels and Venues Association and General Manager at Thorpe Park Hotel and Spa, added:

“The Northern Powerhouse will be truly significant in terms of the economic growth of the city, which will directly impact the growth of business tourism for the region. Devolution to the North will give Leeds the power to finally reduce the massive gap between the North and South. Leeds has fantastic facilities for meetings and events and is already punching above its weight in terms of attracting major events to the city. By finally having the investment in an integrated transport system by rail and air, giving ease of access for business travellers, it will enable the city to compete substantially with the capital, both nationally and internationally.”

For more information, visit www.conference-leeds.com, follow Conference Leeds on Twitter @conferenceleeds or call the team to discuss your conference requirements on 0113 378 1183.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Richard Savage .