Flagship shopping site is branded 'ghost town'

Leeds Council leader Andrew Carter is organising a talk later this

month to discuss the future of the 250m Clarence Dock riverside development.

The developers have admitted trading has been slow but said it would take time for a new scheme to reach its potential.

The scheme, which opened in 2007, has been dogged by claims that it resembles a ghost town during weekdays.

A coffee shop and a clothes store closed their doors after failing to attract enough business.

Councillor Carter now plans to meet with businesses and the developers to talk about how to attract more people.

He said: "I am a great supporter of the Leeds waterfront regeneration and over the past 12 months I have been meeting all the people involved down there. I go down there once a week.

"Unfortunately, because of the economic situation, the most vulnerable developments are the newest.

"I think there are things we can do. I will be talking with the developers, Yorkshire Water, British Waterways, Royal Armouries and others."

Yorkshire Water gave the dock a much-needed boost with the announcement that they were locating over 500 jobs in Livingstone House. Staff and contractors are moving in this month.

Mr Carter said the council had eased strict on-street parking restrictions to enable easier access to shops, restaurants, bars and cafes in Clarence Dock.

One complaint often made by retailers and restaurant owners is that customers were being put off by the high parking charges in a nearby multi-storey car park. Others said the car park was too far to walk to and from.

The owners of one high profile tenant, Mumtaz, a Kashmiri restaurant which opened last year, said dozens of customers being given parking fines.

Company chairman Mumtaz Khan feared the area was fast becoming a "no-go area" and a "ghost town".

Since he made the complaints the city council has opened up Chadwick Street to parking, with enough spaces for about 40 cars.

Mr Carter said a date had yet to be fixed for the meeting but that it would take place in the next fortnight and would give stakeholders a chance to have their say and come up with ideas to improve Clarence Dock.