Leeds United's agony and ecstasy, new additions to the city's skyline and hitting the headlines - YEP editor Laura Collins reflects on the last decade for Leeds

To say it has been an interesting ten years for our city would be an understatement.

The last decade has seen some landmark moments in the history of Leeds - as well as some events that we’d probably like to sponge out of the history books.

Leeds United started the decade in a blaze of glory after being rightfully promoted from League One.

With a new challenge ahead of the club the years saw plenty of turmoil including the managerial merry-go-round under Cellino’s tenure at the helm.

The wider Leeds United family also came together in a show of solidarity and support following the untimely death of legend Gary Speed in 2011.

And this year saw the Whites celebrate their centenary year in style after the Revie Boys were honoured with the Freedom of Leeds to mark their efforts in raising the profile of the club.

The last decade has also seen some new arrivals on the skyline of Leeds.

Trinity Leeds and Victoria Gate opened their doors as did the Arena following a long campaign to have some of the world’s biggest stars playing on our doorstep without the need to trek over the Pennines to Manchester or head south to Sheffield.

And Granary Wharf and the Southbank are just two sites undergoing huge redevelopment as the city centre looks set to double in size as we enter 2020.

The last decade wasn’t without controversy. Leeds hit the national headlines with the devastating Boxing Day floods of 2015 which left swathes of the city underwater as we called on Government to commit to shoring up our flood defences.

We celebrated our city’s Olympic heroes in 2012 and 2016 as they put Yorkshire on the medals map with a sweep of gold glory - and matching postboxes around Leeds.

The scheme was initially signed off in 2012 after a decades long campaign culminating with the ambition to have electric buses powered by overhead wires running across the city every six minutes at peak times by 2018.

The plug was pulled on the project four years later and as the new decade dawns Leeds’ transport woes need to be a priority for the Leeds 2020 vision.

The Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has already pledged to visit our city next month after your Yorkshire Evening Post lay down the gauntlet for an open invitation to see first hand the difficulties our city faces simply getting from one side to another.