Construction helping to sustain region’s economy

Leeds - the only Yorkshire city measured - is ranked 32 out of 100 in the world’s most expensive cities to live in and is ninth out of 12 cities in the UK and Ireland.

The city comes in cheaper than Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol and Liverpool. London is one of the world’s most expensive cities to build in, according to the latest International Construction Costs report, published by Arcadis. It is beaten only by cities like New York, San Francisco and Hong Kong.

The report highlighted Leeds as an example of a thriving regional economy where increased activity across sectors including offices, hotels, retail, education and student housing are all indications of a booming local construction market.

Ongoing construction work at the new £40m research and innovation hub at Leeds University, as well as office development at Wellington Place and the creation of the new Climate Innovation District are all positive indications of strength, it said.

However, this has perpetuated ongoing capacity constraints and there is a risk that construction demand and the rate of growth will slow.