LEEDS IS BUZZING

And with the economy still struggling and growth becoming something of the past I take great joy that Leeds really does seem to be bucking the trend. It may help that Leeds has the biggest financial district outside of London and the biggest amount of solicitors in one city about from London or maybe the most green space per person than anywhere outside of London but all I know is I am very positive about Leeds at the moment and there are a few reasons.

Trinity Leeds being the only shopping centre in the UK to open this year has rejuvenated an area of Leeds that has been dead space since I moved here. The shops inside might not be to every ones taste but with new shops never seen in Leeds, Other shops in Leeds moving into Trinity taking bigger space and creating more jobs, my new favourite cinema in the Everyman and new restaurants and bars the positivity it has left around the city is there for all to see and feel

Leeds Loves Food Millennium Square

Another reason is vast array of event on in Leeds almost every weekend. I have recently been to farmers markets on Briggate, Leeds Loves Food which culminated in a weekend of stalls, presentations and loads of food turning Millennium Square into an attack on the senses, Leeds Loves Cocktails which brought lots of different bars in Leeds together selling new cocktails at fantastic prices and offering workshops daily for the week it was running; Both events will only go from strength to strength. Coming up is the annual Waterfront Festival which runs along the river and canal from The Royal Armouries along up toward Granary Wharf and incorporating Brewery Wharf along the way. Bars, restaurants and public spaces taken up with samples, great food, great beer, family friendly events and hopefully the weather will hold out for again, what is a brilliant event which shows off great elements of Leeds. And my personal favourite.... the German Market will be back in November.

My main talking point in this Blog is alcohol so that brings me to my third reason why I am so positive is the new pubs, bars and restaurants that seem to be opening on a monthly basis in and around the City centre. This week alone I learnt of three new pubs to be opening soon and the brilliance of this is they are all owned by Local Breweries. The Crowd of Favours on Harper Street in the City opens on Saturday (22ND June) and this is the next pub to join the superb Leeds Brewery chain of pubs that includes the Midnight Bell, The Pin and The White Swan. The Old Peacock next to Elland Road is currently undergoing renovation work and will soon open as an Ossett Brewery pub and closer to home for me is the the Old Bridge Inn next to Leeds Rhinos training ground which is due to open in July/August time and this pub is from the excellent Kirkstall Brewery pub so a nice pint of Three Swords will be on my list of things to do as soon as it opens. Trinity brought with it The Alchemist, The Botanist and Angelica as new bars to Leeds and the Botanist has already become a bar frequented by me regularly with some well kept real ales and a varied and sometimes weird cocktail list. Brew Dog Leeds has become a favourite of many with its vast selection of American craft ales, The Pourhouse in Granary Wharf has been around since the turn of the year and still seems to be evading many people but with regular Wharfebank and other local ales on it has become well established by the people that have found it. Again, it is a brewery pub with Wharfebank doing a great job.
Friends of Ham has not been in Leeds long but with its vast selection of drinks and what is certainly a unique feel it has already managed to gain itself a nomination on the shortlist of best pub in the UK in Shortlist Magazine, the only other pub in Leeds that made the list is the much more established North Bar which along with Brew Dog is considered by someone I know well of making up the "holy trinity of ales houses in Leeds"
Further away in Otley The Otley Tavern has opened as a freehold pub and soon North Bar Otley will be opening so the mass of pubs in Otley shows no signs of slowing up and it is a place I thoroughly recommend.

a welcome addition to the skyline

Then there is what could be the jewel in the crown in The First Direct Arena which is to open soon with acts including Bruce Springsteen, Depeche Mode and Miranda Hart. The Arena is great for local people but like Trinity Leeds it is going to bring people in from further a field and is certainly going to challenge Sheffield and Manchester Arenas for supremacy and acts. The Merrion centre is already attracting new restaurants during its external renovation and this is a continuation with new restaurants such as Reds True BBQ, Handmade Burger Company and Origin 7 all moving in recently to offer a bit of everything for the people of Leeds and Yorkshire.

Things are not perfect with some shops having to close down and not all pubs and bars survive but with the optimism in Leeds at the moment it is somewhere people should feel very proud of.