City Council has launched a 10-year Economic Vision and Delivery Plan designed to generate £20 billion in economic growth and create 100,000 new jobs across the city by 2035.
The plan, framed by the national Industrial Strategy and the West Yorkshire Growth Plan, builds on two decades of steady growth and positions Leeds as a leading centre for innovation, technology and inclusive enterprise. It sets out seven bold steps for growth, focusing on key sectors and infrastructure projects expected to accelerate the city’s transformation.
Underpinning the new vision is a major pipeline of investment, from the £160 million expansion of the Royal Armouries Museum to the Elland Road stadium regeneration and the Aire Park mixed-use development, which will feature the UK’s largest new city-centre park. Together with the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, the council is also advancing plans for a mass-transit system, improving city-region connectivity and unlocking further private investment.
The strategy highlights three priority sectors identified for accelerated growth:
Financial and Professional Services (FPS): Accounting for 40 per cent of Leeds’s Gross Value Added (GVA), the sector aims to double in size and create up to 50,000 new jobs. The plan includes establishing Leeds as the “Northern Square Mile”, a northern counterpart to London’s financial district, with a growing FinTech ecosystem supported by the presence of the Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Digital and Technology: With over 3,000 digital and data companies already operating in the city, Leeds’s tech economy has generated 12,000 new jobs since 2015. Building on recent investment from Microsoft in a new hyperscale data centre, the city aims to cement its position as a northern powerhouse for digital innovation and artificial intelligence.
Health and HealthTech: Leeds will expand its internationally recognised expertise in health innovation, aligning closely with the West Yorkshire Investment Zone, which focuses on cutting-edge health technologies, data, and life sciences.
The vision also acknowledges the ongoing importance of construction, advanced manufacturing, retail and the foundational economy, which sustain the city’s daily life and employment base.
Councillor Jonathan Pryor, Deputy Leader and Executive Member for Economy, Transport and Sustainable Development, said the plan builds on a strong foundation of delivery. “Building on two decades of momentum, this plan provides a roadmap for accelerating success and delivering measurable outcomes for our communities. Leeds has one of the UK’s most resilient urban economies. Despite global challenges, we saw a 2.2 per cent rise in GVA in 2023 and employment has grown 14 per cent since 2015. “Our goal is to unlock inclusive growth and close the productivity gap, an improvement that could add £3 billion a year to the national economy. Working as ‘Team Leeds’, we’ll ensure our growth benefits every community.”
Officials say the new delivery plan focuses on inclusive prosperity, combining large-scale investment with programmes to upskill residents, attract new businesses and strengthen sustainability.
The full Leeds Economic Vision and Delivery Plan aligns with regional strategies for West Yorkshire and national frameworks for levelling up, innovation and green growth.
