Leeds chosen as new home of Channel 4's headquarters

The publicly owned, commercially funded broadcaster will open its new headquarters in Leeds after the Leeds City Region beat off competition from Birmingham and Manchester.

Earlier in the process, Sheffield and Hull had also been in the running.

The Leeds bid was on behalf of the Leeds City Region, which also includes Kirklees, Calderdale, Bradford, Wakefield and York.

300 jobs will be relocated from London as part of the plans.

At a meeting earlier this month, members of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority said they believed the benefits such a move could bring to Yorkshire could be “incalculable”.

See also: Leeds chosen as Channel 4's new headquarters location bringing 300 jobs

Roger Marsh, chair of the Leeds City Region enterprise partnership, said: “It would be a huge win for the city of Leeds. It would also be a great achievement for the wider city region.

“Channel 4 was set up to be different. And coming to this part of the country is something very different.”

Leader of Leeds City Council Judith Blake said: “Whatever the outcome, it is a huge achievement to get as far as we have. I would like to thank the partners in the region that have made such an important contribution.

“We are in a good place to recognise how strong our creative sector is.”

A joint statement from Yorkshire leaders was sent to Channel 4 in June, claiming the move would bring huge benefits to the region.

The statement was signed by 19 out of 20 Yorkshire local council leaders or representatives, as well as Sheffield City Region mayor Dan Jarvis and the chairmen of the region’s local enterprise partnerships, which represent local authorities and businesses.