Dear readers, welcome back to another week on The Exchange.
Today’s edition looks deeper into a story we mentioned last week — the departure of massive property conference UKREiiF from Leeds. We’re asking what it means, and we also hear from UKREiiF’s original founder — who now has plans to launch another new festival down on the docks. Will property types be replaced with Apprentice candidate wannabes?
Last week we dug into the great night flight fight underway at Leeds Bradford Airport, featuring a surprising admission from the CEO. It prompted an active debate in the comments, and suggestions of alternative airport locations that would be less disturbing and better for public transport. And on Saturday our editor Daniel finally cut Brad loose to write about his deepest passion: Leeds United FC. The piece explored how manager Daniel Farke has finally been taken to heart by the fans, ahead of his expected contract renewal imminently.
“Judging purely by murals and street art around the city, I wouldn't have guessed Farke has reached Bielsa levels of adoration amongst the fans!”, said Sabrina McVeigh in the comments. It’s a good point: where are the Farke murals?
Take a trip to Yorkshire Sculpture Park this autumn
Golden leaves, crisp air, and soft light – the 500 acres of parkland at Yorkshire Sculpture Park (YSP) come alive in the autumn months. Unlike traditional galleries, changing seasons, light, nature, flora, and fauna make each trip to YSP a unique experience.
The best way to enjoy YSP in every season is with a YSP Friend Membership, which includes year-round admission to the 500-acre grounds and four indoor gallery spaces, plus discounts in the café, restaurant and shops – find out more about memberships or book your visit below.
The big picture: Morning glory
We’re loving this early morning snap of Ivegate in Bradford, which makes the most of the street’s gradient to build different layers. Credit: David Lindsay/Yasper.
We're always looking for tips or ideas of things to write about. Hit that button and send us a message, or e-mail: editor@theexchange.news
The big story: Goodbye, UKREiiF. Hello, The Entrepreneur Festival?
Top line: UKREiiF, the country’s “largest property and investor conference” in the words of James Lewis, Leader of Leeds City Council, has ditched its birthland for Liverpool. The news was announced last week with several influential figures championing the event’s resounding success at Leeds Dock, bringing in £75 million to the economy since launching in 2022, according to Lewis, and “raising our profile on a national and international stage”.
Numbers have quadrupled: UKREiiF’s rise to success can’t be understated — from around 4,000 attendees in the early days to more than 16,000 this year. It was originally launched in 2021 by Keith Griffiths, with the first event taking place in 2022. “Fair play to the guy, I thought he was mad when he launched a real estate festival in the middle of a pandemic,” one local businessman told The Exchange.
Mike Ingall, the Chief Executive of Allied London which owned the lease to Leeds Dock under one of its arms before that went into administration late last year, said: “They’ve done remarkably well to build it up to what it is.”
Why move: The consensus of those we spoke to was that UKREiiF just got too big for the site. Its new location at the Liverpool Experience Campus (LEX) is a very different proposition. It is a dedicated conference and event venue, whereas Ingall says hosting the event at Leeds Dock required rigging and derigging with “well over 50% of the infrastructure” being brought in every year. The announcement itself said LEX will offer “room for the event to keep expanding and a wide choice of accommodation for delegates.”
We have a sister newspaper in Liverpool, The Post, and we’ve told them to brace for a mass arrival of men in open-necked shirts in two years’ time…
Suited and rooted: Everyone quoted within the announcement seemed at great pains to mention how UKREiiF would always have its roots in Leeds, with platitudes such as its “legacy will always belong to Leeds and West Yorkshire” (from co-founding director and managing director, Nathan Spencer). Actual details of how the founding city will continue to benefit were lacking, aside from the aforementioned Spencer saying the company itself will remain based there “with the region holding such a brilliant talent pool that it will help us continue our growth” before revealing this includes overseas events, the first in Australia next year.
The next big thing? The original, exited, founder of UKREiiF, Keith Griffiths, described it as a “sad day” for Leeds and West Yorkshire in a statement sent to The Exchange, with UKREiiF becoming “a pillar of the business community”. But you can still expect to see plenty of business-types, beyond 2027, he revealed. Griffiths has launched The Entrepreneur Festival which will host its first annual event from June 15-17 next year at the Royal Armouries and will then occupy UKREiiF’s slot the following year (May 2028). He said the venue remains “the perfect place to host and grow a national event that will attract thousands of visitors to the city and surrounding areas”. Fewer property types, more tech bro wannabes?
‘That’s the story’: Right now, it’s difficult to predict whether The Entrepreneur Festival will fill the space UKREiiF leaves behind. What is true is that a major success story is leaving for pastures new. But Ingall thinks it should be viewed in a slightly different light. “I don’t necessarily think this is a case of Leeds losing UKREiiF, I would prefer to see it that they built such a successful event in Leeds, that it potentially outgrew the site, and it’s now moved to Liverpool. That’s the story.”
Conference call: The departure highlights a perennial problem for a city of Leeds’ size — a lack of decent conference facilities (large scale events are much more likely to go to Harrogate’s Convention Centre). “Ever ask yourself why Leeds has never hosted a party conference?” one source messaged us, and admittedly no, we hadn't. “Because they don’t have the capacity.”
Arming up: As we recently covered in our deep dive on Leeds Dock, the Royal Armouries is planning to fill the gap by building a huge new “immersive events space”. It’s too late for UKREiiF, but perhaps if The Entrepreneur Festival becomes the next big thing it’ll have a permanent home in Leeds, no matter how successful it is.
The round up
🏙️ The 45-storey Arena Point student tower has opened, cementing Leeds as home to the country’s (the company claims it’s the world’s) tallest student tower, and Yorkshire’s tallest building. “Think of the bragging rights,” says the company’s breathless marketing copy. The “last few rooms” are still available, priced between £195/week for an ensuite room, to £275pw for a studio. That’s pricey, but still cheaper than some of the top-end PBSA units that have come onto the market in the last few years — a market that, we reported this summer, may well have overheated and be on the wane.
⬛ The humble bandstand has got an avant-garde redesign for Horbury’s Carr Lodge Park and has been given planning approval after mixed reviews from commenters. The design, by Studio J Architects Ltd, is in dramatic black brick and resembles a lopsided cube partially submerged in the ground. “The design has been influenced by, and celebrates, both traditional coal mining and the sculptures of Barbara Hepworth,” say the planning notes. It’s generated a lot of chatter on the planning portal, with people roughly 2:1 in favour. “This kind of modernist cuboid development is fundamentally at odds with the Georgian heritage of the site,” said one objector. On the opposite end of the spectrum, a supporter writes: “The proposed designs sound especially exciting — modern and distinctive.”
The bandstand has “gone through a long process and design competition where more traditional ones were offered,” architect James Butterworth told The Exchange. He said the proposal was picked out by people including the volunteer group that looks after the park as well as local bands who’ll be using it in the future. “I appreciate that certain designs aren’t for everybody, but we hope once it’s built they will grow to love it and enjoy it.” What do you think? Let us know in the comments.
🏛️ Labour councillor for Farnley and Wortley, Adrian McCluskey, is to stand down next May, citing health issues and a wish to see more of his family. “The work takes its toll on councillors. It is a seven day a week role, as people’s lives don’t stop for weekends or holidays,” he wrote in a post on Facebook, noting treatment for cancer, a knee replacement, and the loss of his mother. McCluskey is the third councillor who’s recently stepped back, with Pudsey’s Reform Councillor Trish Smith also saying she won’t stand again in May, and Calverley and Farsley are readying for a by-election this month after Labour councillor Peter Carlill stepped down.
💬 Both the leader of Kirklees Council, Reform’s Sarah Wood, and the national Reform Party, have defended comments made on what appears to be the personal Facebook account of one of their councillors. The post, written while Clayton was apparently away in Greece, admired how the country had “no invaders,” going on to say: “no one raiding shops, no gang rapes on the beach, no Sheria [sic] Courts, no man marrying a child! Just normal (not 3rd world animals).” It also suggested Tommy Robinson was correct about an “invasion” of the UK.
Wood has now said, per the Local Democracy Reporting Service’s Lyra Auld: “The language used may go further than I would. But Tracy raises an important point in the implied intent of her post. What's happening in Britain is an invasion; many rational people see this.”
Approached for comment by The Exchange, the national party denied that Clayton had been talking about all immigrants; just the ones committing the criminal acts she had named. As such, they said, “Cllr Clayton is completely correct.”
Home of the week
Are you looking for a project? No, are you really looking for a project? You can get derelict 48-room former care home with stunning views outside Bingley for just £185,000 (guide price). But my goodness, you’re going to spend many, many times that actually sorting it out. Still if you’re fancying opening a luxury countryside hotel, with the right attitude and a serious amount of imagination, this could be it.
Things to do
📚 With it officially being spooky season, why not get into the spirit by meeting New York Times bestselling author Rachel Harrison at Waterstones in Leeds tomorrow night. She’ll be there between 7pm and 9.30pm to celebrate the release of Kiss Slay Replay! — a “monstrous, gripping, heartfelt time-loop horror”. Tickets are £5 or £13 with the book.
🌍 Our unprecedentedly hot summer has put climate change at the heart of public consciousness and on Wednesday evening (7pm-9pm) the Bruntcliffe Club, in Morley is hosting a special community screening of The People’s Emergency Briefing. Described as an “eye-opening” 50-minute film, it brings together nine leading UK scientists and experts with the latest evidence of the effect of climate change on extreme weather, food security and the cost of living. This one’s free but seats are limited so book in advance here.
💃 Free activities are few and far between these days, especially when it comes to dancing. That’s exactly what Martin Henson DANCE is offering at Yorkshire Dance, in St Peter’s Square across a series of Tuesdays. Specifically this is an Open Level Contemporary Dance Class and while Martin says beginners are welcome, “this isn’t a beginner’s class”. The sessions run from 6.15pm to 7.25pm every Tuesday until 8 December currently. Book on here.
