Wednesday 4 June – Saturday 28 June.
Kirkgate Market, Butchers Row.
In this reinterpretation of our 2024 exhibition, ‘The Promised Land‘, we examine the work of Leeds Development Corporation using over 140 exclusive original photographs, 40 of which are previously unseen. We present provocative contrasts between once desolate lands on the waterfront, now teeming with life. We uncover local opposition to Leeds Development Corporation in the Kirkstall Valley. We consider the legacy and impact of Leeds Development Corporation thirty years on. Come with us on this tale of urban development.
Free Events: Drop in slide carousel viewing.
Come and have a flick through our slide carousels to celebrate the launch of our exhibition, and Civic Day. View over 500 original 35mm slides taken by Leeds Development Corporation 1988-1995.
Kirkgate Market, Butcher’s Row. Free, no booking required.
- Exhibition Launch: Wednesday 4 June. 11:00 – 15:00
- Civic Day: Saturday 14 June. 11:00 – 15:00
What was Leeds Development Corporation?
Leeds Development Corporation was a government initiated body that held planning powers over areas of South, Central and West Leeds 1988-1995. Development Corporations were set up all around the country and divide opinion. For some, Development Corporations were a much needed way to streamline and accelerate urban development and regeneration in dilapidated areas. For others, Development Corporations were strange and unaccountable bodies that took the power to grant planning applications away from the democratic and accountable local council.
In this exhibition, we examine the work of Leeds Development Corporation in the City Centre, the Docks & Riverside, Holbeck & Hunslet and in Kirkstall & Armley.
A Volunteer Project
This exhibition, and its 2024 predecessor, ‘The Promised Land’, has been created by a team of Leeds Civic Trust volunteers. Our volunteers catalogued the jumbled up box of over 500 35mm slides Leeds Civic Trust inherited, catalogued the images and rephotographed the locations as they stand today.
This time around, our volunteers have carried out more research into Leeds Development Corporation to produce detailed information boards. We consider the impact of LDC on future investment and developments in Leeds, local opposition to LDC in the Kirkstall Valley, and ghost schemes for developments that were never realised.
Useful Information:
Getting to Butchers Row: Butchers Row runs along the northern side of Kirkgate Market. Use the entrances to the market on George Street.
Date: 4 – 28 June
