The annual Leeds Crane Survey Report has been published and shows a significant increase in new construction starts when compared to recent years. In total 13 schemes are currently under construction and a further 9 schemes have been completed in the past year.

New starts are popping up all over the city and whilst the vast majority are within the city centre, there are also some significant schemes under construction in the Fringe and Waterfringe areas. The Waterfringe area is likely to see further progress over the next 12 months as Allied London's transformation of Leeds Dock starts to take place and proposals continued to be developed for Leeds South Bank along with opening of the Leeds Station Southern Entrance opening in Q4 2015.

The key headlines show that there is currently 593,000 sq ft of office space under construction in the city, which is three and a half times more than in 2013. This is through a fine blend of speculative investment by developers and a growing tenant commitment. Central Square is the largest office development to start on site delivering circa 201,700 sq ft of office space and ancillary retail / leisure uses. The site has been vacant for a number of years and it is great to see this much noted site finally being brought forward.

For the third year running now we have not witnessed any new starts in the residential sector and residential development still appears to elude the city centre. We expect to see signs of improvement in 2015 with a number of modest schemes taking advantage of the permitted development rights of conversion of office stock to residential and also with the investments in the city we can likely to see larger scheme come forward under the Private Rented Sector banner but not before 2016.

The exception to this is student housing and the sector continues to be a mainstay of the crane survey with two new starts delivering 600 bed spaces although this is not surprising given the increasing expectation for purpose built high quality and central student accommodation.

With regard to retail development, Trinity Leeds has now established its position as a key retail destination in Yorkshire. Retail continues to grow in the city with the long awaited start of Hammerson's Victoria Gate scheme. The scheme highlights continued confidence in the Leeds retail market among developers and retailers and is the only UK city to boast retail development of such scale over the past couple of years.

The city's credentials as a leisure destination have also continued to grow fuelled through the international reach of the First Direct Arena which is now in its second year.  This part of the city centre is expected to continue to expand over the coming years with the creation of a new 'Arena Quarter' in the city.

Overall Leeds has seen significant levels of growth and investment in the city by a range of developers all promoting different sectors. This has had a positive impact on the city and things will hopefully continue on this trajectory throughout the next 12 months.

Read the full report: Deloitte Leeds Crane Survey report | 2015 

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