Council to discuss five-year plan for city market

A new food and drink attraction, hotel, free events and digital marketing will all form part of a draft plan to enhance Leeds' Kirkgate Market.

Senior councillors will discuss a new five-year strategy for improving the indoor market hall at a meeting on 11 February.

A report by the city council said footfall at the indoor market had increased since 2021, while occupancy of the Grade I listed site's units had risen from 83% to 88% over the same time period.

The local authority said its new strategy was aimed at ensuring the market "maintains its upward trajectory".

A planning application for a new "shipping container" food and drink venue, which was mooted last year, is expected to be submitted shortly, according to the council.

Traders will be given help to boost their own profiles, under the plan, while the council will try to expand the market's digital reach online.

The council has also reaffirmed its commitment to a hotel and publicly-run gym at the site, more than two years after planning permission was granted for a Premier Inn to be developed on the George Street side of the market.

Consent for that will expire if work has not started by November of this year, under planning law.

Leeds City Council said building work was "targeted" to start in the autumn of this year.

Premier Inn has not responded to the BBC's request for comment.

The council's deputy leader, councillor Jonathan Pryor, said: "Leeds Kirkgate Market is a hugely important part of local life and it's a real source of pride that we, as a council, have been able to support it so strongly over the last five years through a mix of investment and innovative thinking.

"Recovery from the effects of the pandemic has not been easy, but today the market is in good shape and ready to face the future with confidence."

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