Evaluate the success of Leeds Riverside redevelopment with reference to social, economic and environmental changes. (40 Marks)

With the redevelopment experienced on the riverside of Leeds there is a mixed amount of success in social, economic and environmental aspects. Zones of discard have been turned into modern, clean and enticing areas for people to both work and live in. Decreasing the number of unemployed and increasing the number of homes in the areas have both both been undergone with relative success. However there is the aspect that has been overlooked slightly in my opinion which is the environmental aspect of the redevelopment.

Holbeck Urban Village, named the best neighbourhood in the UK and Ireland in 2014 for the 2015 Urbanism Awards. Clearly this area of redevelopment has had a large amount of success. This outcome being both socially and economically important here. The social side is that the area has gained a reputation of friendly living and would attract people to move into the area, which links to that part of it also being an economic factor as the award will help reduce the amount of time it will take to earn back the money spent on the redevelopment. The award will also help ensure that the area doesn't fall once again in to the category of a zone of discard. This Urban Village, a superb place for small start up businesses with a combination of factors making this possible. Cheap rents, and like minded individuals gives the businesses support and advice that they need to get their company off the ground. Once the businesses become established they move out of the urban village into other, large offices. This mutually benefits the city as businesses fill up vacant offices and the empty spaces in the urban village brings more and more people in. The economic side of this factor is substantial, as the area helps start local businesses who will employ locals of Leeds, thus keeping the money in the city. The rent for the office in the urban village and then eventually in the main city itself are also positives of this. This support and availability of offices also increases the employment rates in the area, which leads onto my next point. The maximum number of jobs that should be created in an urban village is one thousand, a substantial figure yes, but Holbeck aimed to create five thousand jobs, and in the end achieved to create one thousand five hundred. Yes the urban village failed to achieve its aim, which could be a negative in the evaluation of the success as it seen in the statement however the area has now an extra one thousand five hundred jobs more than it did before so there is a clear success here. This increase in jobs, as mentioned before benefits the local economy as the people working here will earn and spend the majority of their income within the city, this therefore benefits the city as a whole. These points here are the positive factors of this area of redevelopment in Leeds, which is a fairly substantial argument in itself.

However there are some negative outcomes to be seen from this redevelopment. One would be the total estimated spend of the project, which is eight hundred million pounds, a very large amount of money. This therefore has to be evaluated to whether or not the redevelopment was worth it. The outcomes that were successful need to be put against the amount of money that it would cost to produce the urban village. You could argue that due to the fact that the village only created an extra one thousand five hundred jobs that it was not a successful redevelopment scheme, and that you may be thinking that the total cost would be all in the hands of Leeds City Council. This however, is not the case. Holbeck is a partnership scheme consisting of six different companies which all have different parts to play in this scheme. This therefore breaks down the work load and the cost to each individual company. These companies or organisations involved include, Leeds City