Leeds' leisure focus shifts to the waterfront

The focus of where people drink, eat and meet in Leeds is turning to the waterfront, with new developments challenging the city's traditional restaurant and bar areas further north.

Mixed use schemes along the River Aire - £300m of developments are currently in the planning stage - will result in residents and office workers looking to fill bars and restaurants nearby rather than in the retail centre, according to Mark Rothery at agent Knight Franks.

"The shift is already apparent with big name bars such as the Calls, Revolution and Pitcher & Piano - all encouraged by a burgeoning nightlife scene in Leeds - locating within the river-edge quarter," he said.

"In the past the riverside has been a peripheral location to the main bar and club circuit. But Leeds nightlife has undergone a vibrant resurgence over the past five years and the pull is definitely south to the river.

"The time is ripe to enter the market with rents calming to around £25 as opposed to £28 to £30 a few years ago," he added. "And that was when there wasn't such a nocturnal buzz about the place.

"The increased opportunity has evolved from an overall increase in population, wealth and an upsurge in local service industries."

There are few opportunities left for operators to enter the waterside circuit. One property still available is No 1 Dock Street, a Grade II-listed building with a ground floor bar/restaurant with views over the river.

Meanwhile, construction is underway at Brewery Wharf, Rushbond Group's £100m south bank development.

The focus of the scheme is Brewery Place which will provide up to 35,000sq ft of area for new bars, restaurants and cafés, contracts for a third of which are already completed.

The south-facing piazza, which links the development's 100,000sq ft of offices and 300 homes, will become Leeds' most extensive outdoor dining and drinking area and Jurys Doyle is building the city's second largest hotel on the site.