Place Yorkshire’s busy summer of industry events – with Development Updates in Leeds, Hull, and Sheffield – shone a spotlight on the breadth of investment opportunities and development activity across our region. Local authorities highlighted their latest visions, development frameworks and flagship projects, while private sector developers showcased their ongoing and recently completed schemes.

Overarching themes centred on confidence and collaboration, reflecting the sense that the region is improving at highlighting its strengths and that public-private partnerships are starting to deliver tangible results.

Optimism despite challenging economic fundamentals

For those outside the region, this sense of local confidence may come as a surprise, given the less-than-positive economic indicators.

Two reports from Centre for Cities this year have highlighted these challenges. In January, the annual Cities Outlook 2025 – which compares the relative performance of the UK’s urban centres – made for challenging reading. Of the 10 UK urban centres with the lowest measures of labour productivity, Yorkshire accounted for four (Hull, Huddersfield, Barnsley, and Doncaster). It held three positions in the 10 UK cities with the lowest wages (Bradford, Doncaster, and Huddersfield).

In July, Checking out: The varying performance of high streets across the country, analysed and compared UK town and city centres. While Leeds and York performed strongly, Yorkshire’s other towns and cities fared less well. Sheffield was highlighted as having the highest vacancy rate of any large city centre, while Hull, Bradford, and Huddersfield were all noted for their low levels of city centre spending.

So, why the mismatch between the gloomy economic picture and the undeniable confidence and sense of purpose from our local leaders and property community? Reflecting on this, I think there are three key areas driving this positive sentiment

Regional leadership and collaboration

Part of the confidence comes from having the ability to set our own priorities for the region and taking more ownership over local investment decisions. The regional mayor model has now bedded in, particularly in South and West Yorkshire, with clarity created by new growth strategies and spending plans.

There isn’t a lack of awareness of the challenges we face, but a renewed sense that we now possess some of the tools needed to address these challenges head on: particularly in improvements to transport infrastructure and the skills agenda.

Although the wider political backdrop looks very uncertain, both Tracy Brabin and Oliver Coppard’s terms of office run until 2028, providing some crucial stability and strong visual leadership in the years ahead.

Innovation driving economic growth

There is a clear recognition across the region that we need to boost our business base and create more well-paid jobs to deliver the kind of economic growth we need. Crucially, the region already has a strong foundation to build on – with world-class research institutions, a pipeline of tech talent and a growing ecosystem of innovation-led businesses. One of the key pillars of our economic growth strategy is to harness the innovation coming out of the region’s universities by helping spin-out businesses to scale up and finding real-world commercial applications for academic research. In Counter Context’s home city of Sheffield, projects such as the Sheffield Innovation Spine and the University’s Runway Park are leading the way, supporting and complementing key regional hubs like AMRC (Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre) and the Olympic Legacy Park (OLP).

Residential development driving urban renewal

One of the big themes of the Development Updates was the positive role that residential development is having in driving urban regeneration.

Delivering new homes in and around our urban cores is seen as a vital piece in the long-term jigsaw. Bringing thousands more residents into our town and city centres will help breathe new life into former retail areas by creating sustainable communities with key amenities on the doorstep, encouraging new commercial investments, and supporting our local businesses.

Indeed, Bradford hit back against the Centre for Cities assessment of its high street by explaining that their level of retail vacancy was largely a conscious decision: this year the Council has been getting ready for the start of the Bradford City Village development – a partnership with ECF which Counter Context is proud to support – by emptying two older shopping centres. This redundant retail space will be transformed into a sustainable city centre residential neighbourhood, bringing life and vibrancy to the city centre and helping to create the demand to sustain a high quality offering of retail, food, drink, and leisure.

A real cause for optimism for residential development in Yorkshire’s towns and cities is the promise of more public funding for social and affordable homes. With £39bn earmarked for the Government’s Social and Affordable Homes Programme, we should see more involvement from Registered Providers and other affordable housing providers in significant urban regeneration projects.

Overall, it is clear that the scale of development now unfolding across Yorkshire points to a more dynamic future for the region. While there is still much to do, the hope is that investors, innovators, and local leaders can work together to turn ambition and untapped potential into true economic impact and ensure Yorkshire’s next chapter is built to last.