Leeds

Located in the northern English county of West Yorkshire, Leeds has a rich heritage and a recorded history from the 5th century. Today, it is the third largest and one of the fastest-growing cities in the UK—with its 800,000 residents making it the 24th most populous city in the European Union. Leeds is also one of the UK’s greenest cities, with two thirds of it being classified as rural. Much of this green space contributes to the individual character of surrounding town and village communities. In total, Leeds has 28 town, market town and district centres, along with 4,000 hectares of parks and green spaces.

Its diverse economy has changed markedly over the years from being dominated by industry to now being the country’s largest centre for finance, legal and business services outside London. It also has well-developed retail, healthcare and creative sectors and has retained its strength in manufacturing. Leeds City Station is used by over 101,000 passengers a day, the second highest of any train station outside London, while Leeds-Bradford International Airport handles some 3 million passengers a year.

Leeds also has one of the highest student populations in the UK with over 60,000 students attending three universities. The higher education and further education sector generated an estimated £360 million for the local economy during 2011.

In terms of leisure and tourism, the city has art galleries, theatres, country estates, restaurants, bars and pubs, cafés, comedy clubs, music events from classical to rock/pop, West Indian Carnival, sports stadiums and a 13,500 seat Arena under construction. It attracts some 35.5 million day visitors and 3.5 million overnight visitors a year, with tourism estimated to be worth £1.4 billion in 2008.