Dear Exchangers — we welcome you to today’s newsletter on the back of a busy old week.
Mia was solely steering the ship last week, while Brad was on a well-deserved holiday. But now we’re back to full power again.
Not that you’d have known we were a member down from last week’s output. Our brilliant weekend read from Samuel Bancroft analysed Leeds' public transport from 1957 to now and sparked mass debate. Lord Frost even got involved to dispute Samuel’s findings — we politely disagree but it shows the people are talking. More on that below in catch up and coming up.
But first, your Monday round-up.
The round-up:
🏗️ Leeds-based Torsion Construction is on the brink of “collapse”, Place North West reported last week. The company is behind projects in Manchester and Sheffield, but the biggest question mark for Leeds’ skyline now is the fate of Sky Gardens, one of the tallest residential buildings in Yorkshire. Despite revenues of £164 million last year, “exceptionally challenging trading conditions” has the business on the ropes and preparing to appoint administrators, who get called in when a company can no longer meet its debts. The 35-storey tower, delivered by developer CityLife and built by Torsion, is a key part of Leeds’ South Bank regeneration project, and promised, per glossy marketing materials, “a level of luxury with no equal in the city”. For their part, Torsion told Construction Enquirer that the decision had been made to give the firm space to try and save the business. The building does appear to be at an advanced stage — Torsion celebrated its “topping out” (putting the last piece of the roof on) last December, saying the show flat was almost ready. Flats are still being offered for sale on Rightmove.
A spokesperson for the WYCA tells The Exchange that “contingency plans are being developed to support continued delivery of [Sky Gardens], and that there remains a commitment to completing the development.”
🚋 Powers to boost West Yorkshire’s mass transit could be handed to Mayor Tracy Brabin, Angela Rayner, minister for Housing and Communities, told the BBC on Friday. “Is it going to be the case that if Tracy Brabin says, ‘I need a tram’, she can ring up No. 10 North and say ‘how much money have you got, I need it now’?” asked the Today programme, foreshadowing our very popular weekend read about Leeds sans its historical tram network. “She won’t be going and saying ‘please can I have a tram,” answered Rayner, adding that fiscal devolution “allows them to plan the economy around what their needs are and drive that investment from the private sector into her area.” Rumours about the increased power regions will receive from Andy Burnham’s government are flying at the moment — this morning’s headlines are all centred on devolving funding from income tax. Watch this space as we work out exactly what this means for our area.
🐑 Animal-rights group PETA is asking the owner of Bradford’s former Legrams Mill to install a plaque commemorating all the sheep who “suffered and died” there, in their latest attention-grabbing stunt. Sandeep Gupta is planning to turn the old mill into 130 student and residential apartments. “A simple plaque would remind the community that sheep are individuals with their own personalities,” says vice president Yvonne Taylor.
📈 The Leader of Bradford Council has said he’d “love” to cut council tax bills but that “it’s not going to happen”. As reported by Chris Young for the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Councillor Stephen Place of Reform UK pointed out in his first leader’s report last week that the city was coming out of Exceptional Financial Support two years early. But he stopped at the suggestion the local authority might be able to propose a 0% increase in council tax for the next two years. Councillor Place said the newfound stability in Bradford Council’s finances is dependent on a 4.99% council tax rise in the coming years.
The big picture:
Feast your eyes on this stunningly-timed drone shot of the sunset peeking through Huddersfield’s Victoria Tower on Castle Hill. James Viney’s @airskyflyvisuals account on Instagram has this and more gorgeous aerial images — and high-resolution versions can be ordered here.
Home of the week:
This recently-renovated detached bungalow in Crofton, Wakefield caught our eye this week, not least the Scandinavian-style wooden detailing on the exterior. For £294,000 you get three bedrooms and a living room with a bespoke, built-in media wall that opens into a “stylish” kitchen-dining room via an archway. This is described as the “heart of the home”, featuring a “striking roof lantern” with inset spotlights. There is also a separate converted garage, which is currently used as a home office. Take a closer look here.
Catching up and coming up:
Readers gobbled up our piece by guest writer Samuel Bancroft, which visualised relative public transit journey times to the centre of Leeds both today and in 1957, when the city had a tram network. The conclusion: Despite a much larger population, Leeds has in transit terms effectively “shrunk.”
Samuel Bancroft
“What a shame!” wrote commenter Dr V Nayak. “The transport network of 1957 seems to be more efficient and value for money than the current bus network. No wonder we are heckled.”
Across X and Bluesky, there were calls for the exercise to be repeated in other UK cities (making the rest of the Mill Media network prick up its ears, so watch this space). Lord Frost of Allenton, who campaigns against “poorly considered” Net Zero policies, was rather more sniffy, pointing out on X that a lot more people have cars now (as Samuel’s article covered, households in Leeds’ more deprived areas are far more likely not to own cars). “Did not have David Frost tweeting about economic geography and transport implications for Leeds on my bingo card for this week,” posted transport data guru Tom Forth, who actually introduced us to Samuel in the first place.
Things to do:
💫 Leeds Anime & Gaming Con kicks off on Friday at Leeds Marriott Hotel, running until Sunday. Described as the “UK’s biggest anime convention”, you can expect famous international voice actors and celebrities, cosplay panels and workshops and various gaming tournaments. Ticket prices start from £16. Get hold of them here.
🧀 Still not had your fill of prestigious international tournaments? Gear yourself up for The Fromage World Cup which is being hosted at The Adelphi on Thursday night between 7pm and 11pm. Some of the world’s top cheeses will go head to head with a winner crowned on the night. Minus the controversy and FIFA’s big cheese, the cartoon-faced Gianni Infantino. Just two early bird tickets remain (£22) at the time of writing. Standard entry is £25.
🎶 DJs John Hope and Dave Birkenshaw will be taking over the The Canopy Bar again at The Woods in Chapel Allerton for Indie Forever on Friday. The event runs from 8pm until 1am and will feature “non-stop indie/alternative bangers” and coincides with the 25th anniversary of the ‘Is This It’ album by The Strokes. Tickets are £6.13, available here.
