SecretLeeds - History, culture and architecture in Leeds

We visited the Eastgate Quarter exhibition in the VQ this morning (it's on Cross Arcade, actually in one of the shop units).The revised plans look fairly good although they are a bit vague about some specifics at the moment. The residential side of the original plans looks to have been totally shelved, which isn't perhaps surprising.One interesting point is that Eastgate is proposed to be fully pedestrianised under the scheme (as is the whole development) with bus traffic diverted via George Street at the side of the market onto Vicar Lane (traffic currently flows the one way only here). Apparently the pedestrianisation is "flexible" to accomodate Metro's Next Generation Transport NGT (Supertram / monorail / trolley buses / flying pigs carrying baskets beneath them) if it ever gets off the ground.While the area needs redeveloping, I'm still concerned that while in Leeds this morning I couldn't help but note how many empty shop units there already are. The Core (formerly The Headrow Shopping Centre, formerly Schofields) still resembles a ghost town inside and Leeds Plaza (aka the Bond Street) isn't exactly bursting at the seams with retailers either - and this is before Trinity has got up and running.There is a bit more info here: http://www.eastgatequarters.co.uk/

raveydavey wrote: We visited the Eastgate Quarter exhibition in the VQ this morning (it's on Cross Arcade, actually in one of the shop units).The revised plans look fairly good although they are a bit vague about some specifics at the moment. The residential side of the original plans looks to have been totally shelved, which isn't perhaps surprising.One interesting point is that Eastgate is proposed to be fully pedestrianised under the scheme (as is the whole development) with bus traffic diverted via George Street at the side of the market onto Vicar Lane (traffic currently flows the one way only here). Apparently the pedestrianisation is "flexible" to accomodate Metro's Next Generation Transport NGT (Supertram / monorail / trolley buses / flying pigs carrying baskets beneath them) if it ever gets off the ground.While the area needs redeveloping, I'm still concerned that while in Leeds this morning I couldn't help but note how many empty shop units there already are. The Core (formerly The Headrow Shopping Centre, formerly Schofields) still resembles a ghost town inside and Leeds Plaza (aka the Bond Street) isn't exactly bursting at the seams with retailers either - and this is before Trinity has got up and running.There is a bit more info here: http://www.eastgatequarters.co.uk/ John Lewis will attract a few shoppers and I would imagine some of the national retailers will jump ship from their current location but that just creates ghost towns in the other shopping cebtres

I've lost track of what's called what these days but i was in what used to be the Bond Street centre the other day and the lower level of it is almost entirely empty units, Yellow Sun has gone and so has pretty much everything else.Merrion Centre i'm sure had empty units, plus the current state of the market. I don;t know why we need another shopping centre. :~

According to the blurb, M&S have already agreed to take a massive flagship store in the Eastgate Quarter, so that presumably spells the end of their presence on Briggate?That alone will be a mighty hole to fill - not to mention the huge empty store it will leave on the "Knightsbridge of the North".

Crazy Jane wrote: Merrion Centre i'm sure had empty units, plus the current state of the market. The Georgian arcade in the Merrion has spaces but then many of those were engineered by not renewing leases (the Tap and Spile fell victim to that and its still vacant 10+ years on) other than that the merrion Centre is full excluding the Merrion market. Leeds plaza (Bond Street) has spaces and will be a ghost town if/when Trinity and EastGate centres open. Schofields centre has not benefited from its refurb and has probably lost out and given M&S at Owlcotes and White Rose I can't see Briggate surviving if there is also one at EastGate

raveydavey wrote: We visited the Eastgate Quarter exhibition in the VQ this morning (it's on Cross Arcade, actually in one of the shop units).The revised plans look fairly good although they are a bit vague about some specifics at the moment. The residential side of the original plans looks to have been totally shelved, which isn't perhaps surprising.One interesting point is that Eastgate is proposed to be fully pedestrianised under the scheme (as is the whole development) with bus traffic diverted via George Street at the side of the market onto Vicar Lane (traffic currently flows the one way only here). Apparently the pedestrianisation is "flexible" to accomodate Metro's Next Generation Transport NGT (Supertram / monorail / trolley buses / flying pigs carrying baskets beneath them) if it ever gets off the ground.While the area needs redeveloping, I'm still concerned that while in Leeds this morning I couldn't help but note how many empty shop units there already are. The Core (formerly The Headrow Shopping Centre, formerly Schofields) still resembles a ghost town inside and Leeds Plaza (aka the Bond Street) isn't exactly bursting at the seams with retailers either - and this is before Trinity has got up and running.There is a bit more info here: http://www.eastgatequarters.co.uk/ I think the website and in particular the graphic representations are rather weak. Perhaps the latter is intentional to encourage a positive public response through letting people make their ow interprtation of the finished product.Notice also the developers are still refering to it as a 'Quarter' despite the Council's move away from this following public feedback indicating a dislike of the terminology

The properties in Lower Briggate could be bulldozed away to make way for another shopping centre. So could the Market as there is plenty of space there for a huge much-needed Shopping Mall. The old parts of Kirkgate could go - oh, perhaps with the demolition of the First Cloth Hall they have secretly made a start on a new Centre. The area around Duncan Street could be merged with a demolished Corn Exchange for development also. I wonder just how long it will be before all of the centre of Leeds is nothing but one gigantic Mall.PS. I'm not being serious, though I would not be surprised if property developers are already thinking on those lines!

I cant imagine what it will be like but am so looking frward to having a John Lewis in Leeds.

I'll miss noodle shopping in Chinatown, such as it was. I measure productivity in bowls of noodles consumed.

One of the guys on Skyscraper City chatted with te architectshttp://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=6 ... =1539worth a look,some good questions asked.Not too sure about the answers though.PS,does this mena the end of Akbars on Eastgate?i hope not,its the best of the two and is much closer to stagger to from the Palace/Duck/Angel etc etc