Rise of Royal Armouries adds to doubts over new Leeds Convention Centre: Chris Burn

But at the point when outline planning permission was granted, the proposals were at a fairly preliminary stage – as evidenced by an artists’ impression of what it could look consisting of a giant white block.

A council report at the time noted there were “limited details” for how it would look – partly because a detailed business case was yet to have been published.

However, the hope was that the new venue could become the home of corporate banqueting, awards ceremonies, conferences and exhibitions, together with gigs for artists who weren’t quite famous enough to fill the larger First Direct Arena next door.

But it now appears the new convention centre will not be happening any time soon, if ever.

While the council insists the long-term plans for the site “remain very much on the table”, it has confirmed it is looking at other options for expanding the city’s conference facilities.

A decision will be announced “in due course” on whether to press ahead with the new venue or go down a different path.

I’m in no way privy to the internal discussions going on around this subject but I do wonder whether the potential change of heart that appears to be on the cards could have been prompted at least in part by the growing prominence of the Royal Armouries as a conference venue.

When the original planning application was submitted back in March 2022 for the new convention centre, the Royal Armouries had yet to host the first edition of UK's Real Estate Investment & Infrastructure Forum – the British answer to MIPIM in Cannes.

The event has now become an annual fixture in the calendar and attracts thousands of delegates each May. With the support of the council, the Royal Armouries also recently managed to beat competition from the likes of Manchester, Birmingham and Liverpool to keep the event in Leeds until at least 2027.

Equally, the venue has become the host for smaller events such as the Climb investor and innovation festival which is returning this year, while on Friday it will host the Convention of the North whose notable guest speakers include Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove and his Labour counterpart Angela Rayner.

The venue has spent £1.25m recently refurbishing its event spaces as part of a concerted push to become an option of choice for national conferences.

With the First Direct Arena also offering conference space for up to 12,000 delegates at a time and the Royal Armouries increasingly cornering the mid-sized event market, the business case for an entirely new convention centre starts to look shakier.

It also means that Harrogate may only have limited cause for celebration if the new venue doesn’t happen. Leeds has clearly got a growing eye on the lucrative conference market.