Leeds | |
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| Motto: | |
 Leeds shown withinWest Yorkshire | |
  Leeds Location within England Show map of England Leeds Location within the United Kingdom Show map of the United Kingdom Leeds Location in Europe Show map of Europe | |
| Coordinates:53°48′03″N1°33′01″W / 53.8007°N 1.5502°W /53.8007; -1.5502[1] | |
| OS grid reference | SE 2971 3391[1] |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Country | England |
| Region | Yorkshire and the Humber |
| City region andceremonial county | West Yorkshire |
| Historic county | West Riding of Yorkshire |
| Borough Charter | 1207 |
| Town charter | 1626 |
| City status | 1893 |
| Metropolitan borough | 1974 |
| Named after | Leeds |
| Administrative HQ | Leeds Civic Hall |
| Government | |
| • Type | Metropolitan borough withleader and cabinet |
| • Body | Leeds City Council |
| • Control | Labour |
| • Leader | James Lewis (L) |
| • Lord Mayor | Dan Cohen |
| • Chief Executive | Ed Whiting |
| • House of Commons | 10 MPs |
| Area | |
• Total | 213 sq mi (552 km2) |
| • Rank | 71st |
| Population (2024)[4] | |
• Total | 845,189 |
| • Rank | 2nd |
| • Density | 3,970/sq mi (1,532/km2) |
| Ethnicity(2021) | |
| • Ethnic groups | |
| Religion(2021) | |
| • Religion | List
|
| Time zone | UTC+0 (GMT) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (BST) |
| Postcode areas | |
| Dialling codes |
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| ISO 3166 code | GB-LDS |
| GSS code | E08000035 |
| ITL code | TLE42 |
| GVA | 2021 estimate[6] |
| • Total | £27.9 billion |
| • Per capita | £34,487 |
| GDP (nominal) | 2021 estimate[6] |
| • Total | £30.6 billion |
| • Per capita | £37,764 |
| Website | leeds |
Leeds,[7] also known as theCity of Leeds, is ametropolitan borough withcity status inWest Yorkshire, England. The metropolitan borough includes the administrative centre ofLeeds and the towns ofFarsley,Garforth,Guiseley,Horsforth,Morley,Otley,Pudsey,Rothwell,Wetherby andYeadon.[8] It has a population of 845,189 (2024), making it technically the secondlargest city in England by population behindBirmingham, sinceLondon is not a single local government entity.Local governance sits withLeeds City Council and the city's 32Parish Councils.
The current city boundaries were set on 1 April 1974 by the provisions of theLocal Government Act 1972, as part a reform oflocal government in England. The city is amerger of eleven former local government districts; the unitaryCity and County Borough of Leeds combined with themunicipal boroughs ofMorley andPudsey, theurban districts ofAireborough,Garforth,Horsforth,Otley andRothwell, and parts of therural districts ofTadcaster,Wharfedale andWetherby from theWest Riding of Yorkshire.
For its first 12 years the city had a two-tier system of local government; Leeds City Council shared power withWest Yorkshire County Council. Since theLocal Government Act 1985 Leeds City Council has effectively been aunitary authority, serving as the sole (aside from the 32 Parish Councils)executive,deliberative andlegislative body responsible for local policy, settingcouncil tax, and allocating budget in the city, and is a member of theLeeds City Region Partnership.
Although the city's area includes 32civil parishes, most of Leeds' population currently live inunparished areas. In these areas theLocalism Act 2011 makes provision for groups of people from the community, called neighbourhood forums, to formulate Neighbourhood Development Plans and Orders intended to guide and shape development in their own locality.[9]
TheBorough of Leeds was created in 1207, when Maurice Paynel, lord of the manor, granted a charter covering a small area adjacent to a crossing of the River Aire, between the old settlement centred on Leeds Parish Church to the east and the manor house and mills to the west. In 1626 a charter was granted by Charles I, incorporating the entire parish as the Borough of Leeds; it was reformed by theMunicipal Corporations Act 1835. The parish and borough included the chapelries ofChapel Allerton,Armley,Beeston,Bramley,Farnley,Headingley cum Burley,Holbeck,Hunslet,Leeds,Potternewton andWortley. The borough was located in theWest Riding ofYorkshire and gainedcity status in 1893. When a county council was formed for the riding in 1889, Leeds was excluded from its area of responsibility and formed acounty borough. The borough made a significant number of territorial expansions, expanding from 21,593 acres (87.38 km2) in 1911 to 40,612 acres (164.35 km2) in 1961;[10] adding in stages the former area of theRoundhay, Seacroft, Shadwell andMiddleton parishes and gaining other parts of adjacent districts.
A review of local government arrangementscompleted in 1969 proposed the creation of a new large district centred on Leeds, occupying 317,000 acres (1,280 km2) and including 840,000 people. The proposed area was significantly reduced in a 1971white paper; and within a year every local authority to be incorporated into it protested or demonstrated.[11] The final proposal reduced the area further and following the enactment of theLocal Government Act 1972, the county borough was abolished on 1 April 1974 and its former area was combined with that of the municipal boroughs ofMorley andPudsey; the urban districts ofAireborough,Horsforth,Otley,Garforth andRothwell; and parts of the rural districts ofTadcaster,Wetherby andWharfedale. The new district gained both borough and city status, as had been held by the county borough; and forms part of the county ofWest Yorkshire.
| Formation of the metropolitan district in 1974 | |
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The former county borough is shaded in grey. Other areas:
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The district and its settlements are situated in the eastern foothills of thePennines astride theRiver Aire whose valley, the Aire Gap, provides a road and rail corridor that facilitates communications with cities to the west of the Pennines. The district extends 15 miles (24 km) from east to west and 13 miles (21 km) from north to south; with over 65% covered withgreen belt land. The highest point, at 1,115 feet (340 m), is at its north western extremity on the eastern slopes of Rombalds Moor, better known asIlkley Moor, on the boundary with theCity of Bradford. The lowest points are at around 33 feet (10 m), in the east: whereRiver Wharfe crosses the boundary withNorth Yorkshire south ofThorp Arch Trading Estate and where the River Aire (at this point forming theCity of Wakefield boundary) meets the North Yorkshire boundary nearFairburn Ings. To the north and east Leeds is bordered by the North Yorkshire districts ofHarrogate to the north andSelby district to the east. The remaining borders are with other districts of West Yorkshire: Wakefield to the south,Kirklees to the south-west, andBradford to the west.[12]
Leeds City Council is the local authority of the district. The council is composed of 99 councillors, three for each of the city's 33wards. Elections are held three years out of four, on the first Thursday of May. One third of the councillors are elected, for a four-year term, in each election. 2004 saw all seats up for election due to boundary changes. It is currently run by aLabour administration. Before the 2011 election, the council had been underno overall control since 2004. The Chief Executive of Leeds City Council is Ed Whiting, and the Leader of the Council is CouncillorJames Lewis of theLabour Party. As ametropolitan county, West Yorkshire does not have a county council, so Leeds City Council is the primary provider of local government services. The district forms part of theYorkshire and the Humber region of England.
Most of the district is anunparished area, comprising Leeds itself (the area of the former county borough), Pudsey, Garforth, Rothwell and the area of the former urban district of Aireborough. In the unparished area there is no lower tier of government. Outside the unparished area there are 31civil parishes, represented byparish councils. These form the lowest tier of local government[13] and absorb some limited functions from Leeds City Council in their areas. The councils of the civil parishes ofHorsforth,Morley,Otley andWetherby are town councils.[14] The 34 other civil parishes are:[15]
The district is represented by tenMPs, for the constituencies ofLeeds Central and Headingley (Alex Sobel, Labour) ;Leeds East (Richard Burgon, Labour);Leeds North East (Fabian Hamilton, Labour);Leeds North West (Katie White, Labour);Leeds South (Hilary Benn, Labour);Leeds South West and Morley (Mark Sewards, Labour);Leeds West and Pudsey (Rachel Reeves, Labour);Selby (constituency shared withNorth Yorkshire) (Keir Mather, Labour);Wakefield and Rothwell (constituency shared withCity of Wakefield) (Simon Lightwood, Labour); andWetherby and Easingwold (constituency shared withNorth Yorkshire) (Alec Shelbrooke, Conservative).
 | This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(March 2021) |
| 2021 UK Census | City of Leeds metropolitan district | Yorkshire and the Humber | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 812,000 | 5,480,800 | 56,536,000 |
| White | 79% | 85% | 81.7% |
| Asian | 8.9% | 9.1% | 9.3% |
| Black | 5.6% | 2.2% | 4% |
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1801 | 94,421 | — |
| 1811 | 108,459 | +14.9% |
| 1821 | 137,476 | +26.8% |
| 1831 | 183,015 | +33.1% |
| 1841 | 222,189 | +21.4% |
| 1851 | 249,992 | +12.5% |
| 1861 | 311,197 | +24.5% |
| 1871 | 372,402 | +19.7% |
| 1881 | 433,607 | +16.4% |
| 1891 | 503,493 | +16.1% |
| 1901 | 552,479 | +9.7% |
| 1911 | 606,250 | +9.7% |
| 1921 | 625,854 | +3.2% |
| 1931 | 646,119 | +3.2% |
| 1941 | 668,667 | +3.5% |
| 1951 | 692,003 | +3.5% |
| 1961 | 715,260 | +3.4% |
| 1971 | 739,401 | +3.4% |
| 1981 | 696,732 | −5.8% |
| 1991 | 716,760 | +2.9% |
| 2001 | 715,404 | −0.2% |
| 2021 | 812,000 | +13.5% |
| Source:Vision of Britain[20]"2021 Census"[21] | ||
At the2001 UK census, the district had a total population of 715,402. Of the 301,614 households in Leeds, 33.3% were married couples living together, 31.6% were one-person households, 9.0% wereco-habiting couples and 9.8% were lone parents, following a similar trend to the rest of England.[22] The population density was 1,967/km2 (5,090/sq mi)[22] and for every 100 females, there were 93.5 males. Of those aged 16–74, 30.9% had noacademic qualifications, higher than the 28.9% in all of England.[23] Of the residents, 6.6% were born outside the United Kingdom, lower than the England average of 9.2%.[24]
At the 2021 Census the population of Leeds had grown substantially to 812,000 with population growth compared with 2011 at 8%, 1.4 points faster then compared with the rest of England.[16]
The majority of people in Leeds identify themselves asChristian.[25] The proportion ofMuslims is around National average.[25] Leeds has the third-largestJewish community in the United Kingdom, after those of London and Manchester. The areas ofAlwoodley andMoortown contain sizeable Jewish populations.[26] 16.8% of Leeds residents in the 2001 census declared themselves as having "no religion", which is broadly in line with the figure for the whole of the UK (also 8.1% "religion not stated").
The crime rate in Leeds is well above the national average, like many other cities in England.[27][28] In July 2006, thethink tankReform calculated rates of crime for different offences and has related this to populations of major urban areas (defined as towns over 100,000 population). Leeds was 11th in this rating (excluding London boroughs, 23rd including London boroughs).[29]
Leeds has a diverse economy with the service sector now dominating over the traditional manufacturing industries. It is the location of one of the largest financial centres in England outside London. New tertiary industries such asretail,call centres,offices andmedia have contributed to a high rate of economic growth. This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of Leeds at current basic prices with figures in millions of pounds.[30]
| Year | Regional Gross Value Added4 | Agriculture1 | Industry2 | Services3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 8,713 | 43 | 2,652 | 6,018 |
| 2000 | 11,681 | 32 | 2,771 | 8,878 |
| 2003 | 13,637 | 36 | 3,018 | 10,583 |
Education Leeds, a non-profit company owned by Leeds City Council, provided educational services between 2001 and 2011. In April 2011 Leeds City Council disbanded Education Leeds and has consolidated educational services into the Children's Services Department of the council itself.[31]
The area has regional studios and broadcasting centres which broadcast fromLeeds:
Leeds TV also broadcast to the area which is required to broadcast 37 hours a week of first-run local programming. .[32]
The area has several radio stations:[33]
Local newspapers for the area:
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Leeds city centre is connected to theNational Rail network atLeeds railway station. Public transport in West Yorkshire is coordinated byWest Yorkshire Metro, under the control of a joint-board of local authorities in the county, includingLeeds City Council.
There are 24 cemeteries in Leeds operated by the city council. The oldest ones, in Beckett Street and Hunslet, were both opened in 1845; the newest ones, in Kippax and Whinmoor, opened in 2013.[35]
The City has severaltwinning or partnership arrangements:
Bibliography
Media related toCity of Leeds at Wikimedia Commons
Leeds travel guide from Wikivoyage| Metropolitan districts | |
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