The development market in Leeds continued to demonstrate strong growth in 2023, with 16 new starts during the year, according to a new report.

The city delivered a strong workspace performance, so much so that existing supply is now looking constrained, according to Deloitte’s annual Crane Survey.

The residential market remained buoyant supported by the city's student accommodation sector which delivered another record-breaking year for student development.

Coun James Lewis, leader of Leeds City Council, said: “Our city centre continues to grow at an exciting pace, with development showing demand across a range of sectors.

Views of Leeds Skyline. Strong growth was recorded in Leeds' development market in 2023, according to Deloitte's annual Crane Survey. Picture by Simon Hulme

"This demonstrates progress towards our continued ambition of creating a greener and better-connected city centre community, nurturing an environment which brings our neighbourhoods closer to jobs and opportunities.

In 2023, 698,996 sq ft of office space was built across three schemes in Leeds city centre, compared to 97,702 sq ft in 2022, boosted by 385,702 sq ft in the South Bank area. However, there was a slowdown in new starts, with one office scheme starting construction in 2023.

Demand for grade A workspace continued to grow, with an increase in office refurbishments recorded in this survey.

The city’s residential market continued to report strong results in 2023 with 15 schemes under construction, compared to 11 in 2022.

For the second consecutive year, Leeds experienced a record-breaking year for student development, with 3,704 beds under construction across 10 schemes. This represents an increase of 12 per cent from the previous record of 3,294 beds in 2022.

Two new educational use schemes also began construction, with the Leeds Mathematics School and the Leeds City College Mabgate Campus.

City centre living boosts Leeds city centre development, new Deloitte survey reveals