'Leeds doesn’t exist!’: Councillor unhappy with city’s absence from weather forecast maps

Conservative Neil Buckley said it was like “Leeds doesn’t exist” during daily weather bulletins.

Councillor Buckley, who represents the city’s Alwoodley ward, made the comments during a public discussion about Leeds’ Year of Culture, which is scheduled for 2023.

Asking organisers about what legacy could emerge from next year’s events programme, Coun Buckley suggested Leeds’ absence from weather forecasts may undermine efforts to improve its image.

He said: “How will Leeds as a city be promoted nationally and internationally?

“Because, I don’t know if anyone else has noticed this, but if you put the weather forecast on – and I know Leeds is in the middle of the country so it’s difficult to put the sign on – but it doesn’t exist.

“We don’t exist! You’ve got Manchester, Hull and Birmingham, but Leeds doesn’t exist.”

Leeds City Council’s head of culture programmes, Pam Johnson, replied: “I absolutely concur with you. I also look for Leeds on the weather map and I rarely see it, though I have seen it a few times recently.

“We will measure the increased profile of the city in different ways.

“One way could be through the visitor economy to see how many more people recognise Leeds as a place for culture.”

The director of programmes for Leeds 2023, Emma Beverley, suggested that getting the city onto weather forecasts would be an “influential” legacy from next year’s events.

She said: “Hull actually went onto weather maps because it was (UK) City of Culture in 2017.

“There are some great examples of legacy when it comes to both buildings and stadiums that we can draw from, but there are those really influential ones too that are quite surprising.

“They’re elements of the tangible legacy that I’m looking forward to.”