Leeds BID chief executive Andrew Cooper writes about what hospitality needs to survive and thrive in the city

You can’t help noticing the national media campaigns to ‘Save Our Pubs’, UK Hospitality’s #Taxed Out or seeing the news that your favourite restaurant or coffee shop has stopped trading, whether a national chain or local independent cafe.

It was obvious at the turn of the financial year how many cafes and restaurants closed in smaller towns and smaller high streets with the prospect of higher costs such as National Insurance, business rates, and food inflation crippling their operation and making them unsustainable. Gaps started appearing.

The government is reviewing its business rates valuation methodology for pubs and hotels this month but is this too little too late or is the Leeds hospitality scene thriving and bucking the trend and finally, what can we do locally to support?

We all need to eat and not all of us possess the skills of Jamie Oliver, so eating out is a UK pastime, and it has become more expensive and for some more of a luxury and a considered purchase where experience is key.

Head chef Tariq Ghumman preparing a starter dish Hakka Paneer at Cinnamon Kitchen | James Hardisty

placeholder image — Head chef Tariq Ghumman preparing a starter dish Hakka Paneer at Cinnamon Kitchen | James Hardisty

I did some basic research of 11 Leeds city centre restaurants. An average main course in a Leeds city centre restaurant cost about £24 and half of them sat between about £18 and £32 for a main.

Compare this to 10 years ago for the same 11 restaurants, a staggering rise of 49 per cent, yes costs have definitely risen, not wanting to sound like traditional Yorkshire person - ”how much?“ but wider macro-economic factors have impacted how we spend individually and the ramifications to whether businesses in this sector survive or thrive.

That said, Leeds has a growing residential population, growth in students and education, and a growth with businesses choosing Leeds as their centre for operations in the UK or regionally.

This means when considering the demographics and population before opening a restaurant, hotel or leisure facility, Leeds has many positive attractive attributes to assist the business decision.

More hotels are needed in the city to support the growth, and we have seen the positive impact of the new Hyatt Hotel in Sovereign Square alongside new restaurants such as Dishoom who have made a real statement of intent in choosing Leeds.

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So, what can be done to help the sector thrive?

* Leeds is open – making the city more accessible and better signposted alongside campaigns to support the hospitality sector. Years of roadworks and poor signage is letting the city down; we need to re-engage with customers that the city centre has changed and is open.

Roadworks on Great George Street, Leeds | Gerard Binks

* Aspiring to a city that is clean, safe and welcoming – making the city centre presentable daily to a thriving business community

* Having a strategic plan to attract the correct events to Leeds to support the hospitality sector. The loss of big income events recently should cause the city to wake up and work more collaboratively and strategically to sustain an event programme that drives bed occupancy and restaurant covers.

* For government locally and nationally to consider ways to incentivise growth and employment in this sector, from affordable café street licenses to a review of business rates and valuations.

Julio Tumalan Director-owner Hooleos Mexican Cafe-Bar - speaks at the YEP’s hospitality roundtable | Steve Riding

A total of 77 hotels and restaurants are part of LeedsBID, a vital sector represented by Crowne Plaza Leeds, first direct bank arena and North Bar. Our commitment as a business improvement district is support this sector in three clear ways and ultimately to see improvement for all businesses and the city of Leeds

1. To respond to cleansing issues daily and support all sectors of the hospitality trade through the Leeds Business Crime Reduction Partnership.

2. To drive footfall through inspirational free city centre events and activations that put Leeds on the map, from large scale city centre trails in the summer to Leeds International Festival of Ideas in autumn.

3. To be ambitious in telling the story of Leeds to a wider audience through our welcometoleeds.co.uk platform. Articulating the message to investors and customers from a place first perspective.

I think Leeds has every right to be positive but not complacent to thrive and survive in this sector.

Clearly your support is incredibly important as we all seek to ensure Leeds is the powerhouse city of the region with a strong and welcoming hospitality sector.