City leaders reaffirm that innovation and growth remains priority

In response to the Government’s announcement of delays to the development of the new hospital at Leeds General Infirmary, leaders from Leeds City Council, the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, the University of Leeds, Leeds Beckett University and Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust have reaffirmed their unwavering commitment to innovation and growth across the city.

The partnership has confirmed it would continue to deliver on its long-term vision for driving innovation and growth in the city to create a healthier, greener and more inclusive future for all.

This follows the confirmation of funding and a start date of between 2033 and 2035 for the development of the new hospital at Leeds General Infirmary.

Despite the Government’s announcement of delays to the development of the new hospital at Leeds General Infirmary, City leaders are pleased to announce that plans for the Leeds Innovation Village, a key neighbourhood within the city’s £2 billion Leeds innovation Arc, and one of the flagship projects of the £160 million West Yorkshire Investment Zone – will still go ahead, with ambitions to start construction later this year.

The Village, which is set to bring about £13 billion in economic growth for the city and around 4,000 jobs will continue and is already into its first phase. This includes the redevelopment of the Old Medical School on the Leeds General Infirmary site into a cutting-edge healthtech innovation hub by one of the UK’s most active, privately-owned, mixed-use developers, Scarborough Group International.

Dame Linda Pollard DBE DL Hon. LLD, Chair of Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust said:

“Our plans for a new hospital are more than healthcare and play a pivotal role in harnessing innovation and stimulating growth across Leeds and beyond. Despite the announcement of disappointing delays to our new hospital at Leeds General Infirmary, plans for the Leeds Innovation Village will still go ahead, with early phases already underway.”

The development of a new hospital at Leeds General Infirmary, alongside wider plans to boost growth and innovation across the city, are a central part of the West Yorkshire Mayor’s local growth plan, which aims to boost the region’s fastest growing business sectors with a special focus on health and life sciences, in line with the Government’s emerging national industrial strategy.

This latest commitment builds on a wide range of successful innovation assets across the Innovation Arc including:

· The successful and vibrant community of innovators and entrepreneurs at Nexus, a state-of-the-art innovation hub on the University of Leeds campus. Nexus has raised £134m in private investment since launching in 2019, with a return on investment of £1.92 for every £1. To date, it has worked with 191 companies and brings together the brightest minds in business, technology and academia and cites over half of its member businesses as healthtech innovators.

· Leeds Teaching Hospital’s fast-growing Innovation Pop Up, located in the Innovation Village on the Leeds General Infirmary site, has grown its membership to over 50 industry members

during its first three years and is currently collaborating on around 40 projects with industry partners. The Pop Up brings work nationally and internationally to bring together world-leading clinicians and healthtech industry partners to grow innovation, research and technology for the benefit of patients.

· Leeds Becket University’s £80m Leeds School of Art building which provides industry standard facilities for over 2500 students and 100 staff studying and researching in film, TV, technology, sound, music, drama, dance and fashion. The centre provides wider cultural and industry partnerships across Leeds.

· An envisaged route of the West Yorkshire Mayor’s Mass Transit system would see trams run along the spine of the Innovation Arc, linking Leeds station and the South Bank to Harehills. This would bring modern, sustainable transport modes to the heart of the Innovation Arc, reducing north-south travel times, creating potential hubs around stops, and providing connections to the wider area.

The renewed commitment will see Leeds continue its journey as one of the UK’s most stable, forward-thinking and attractive locations for health and care research and innovation. With the backing of strong collaborative leadership, Leeds ranks as the third most attractive location for healthtech firms which are ready to launch or looking to move, having the highest number of biomedical scientist undergraduates in the country and being home to nine of the top 10 investors in research and development.*”

Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire, said:

“As the home of NHS England and Europe’s largest teaching hospital, Leeds is an international magnet for health innovation, and there is no setback that can stop us from realising our potential.

“With our multimillion-pound Investment Zone driving the development of the Old Medical School into a world-leading centre of medical and technological innovation, we will deliver jobs and growth here in West Yorkshire while transforming the lives of patients worldwide.

“We will also continue to make the case for the all-important new hospital at Leeds General Infirmary to be built as soon as possible, as part of our wider plans to build a well-connected Innovation Arc across the city of Leeds through our new Mass Transit system, driving growth.

Councillor James Lewis, leader of Leeds City Council said:

"We remain absolutely committed to our long-term vision for the city of stimulating innovation and economic growth that drives and delivers measurable impact towards a healthier, greener and inclusive future for all.

"The Leeds Innovation Village, a key neighbourhood within the city's £2 billion Innovation Arc, will progress as planned, and we're excited about the potential it holds to drive economic growth, create jobs, and improve healthcare. The transformation of the Old Medical School into a new cutting-edge health innovation hub will further solidify Leeds' position as a global healthtech hub."

-ENDS-

For further information, please contact Jessica Hardman, Head of Communications (BtLW), Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Jessica.hardman3@nhs.net

Notes

This recommitment has been made by:

Professor Phil Wood, Chief Executive, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust; Cllr James Lewis, Leader, Leeds City Council; Tracy Brabin, Mayor, West Yorkshire Combined Authority; Professor Shearer West, Vice-Chancellor and President, University of Leeds; Professor Peter Slee, Vice Chancellor, Leeds Beckett University.

*Pursing excellence report, an independent analysis of Leeds’ research and innovation in health and care, March 2024 (commissioned by Leeds Academic Health Partnership)

The Leeds Innovation Arc, the city’s £2billion city centre science park, is a global destination for people, investment and innovation in one of the UK’s fastest growing and greenest cities with an ecosystem addressing the biggest societal challenges of our time through collaborative, diverse and innovative solutions. The Arc is home to some of the most significant innovation assets in the north of England, both public and private sector, including our two biggest universities, the hospital and Nexus at the University of Leeds, a hub for an increasing number of innovative businesses including SeeAI, Itecho Health and Atlas Endoscopy.

Leeds City Council’s work as a city on innovation builds on our participation in the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology Regional Entrepreneurship Accelerator Program (MIT REAP) which fueled Leeds’ drive to grow the regional innovation ecosystem and bench mark ourselves and our progress.

The Government review into the New Hospital Programme, which the new hospital at Leeds General Infirmary was part, has now concluded. The Secretary of State for Health announced on Monday 20 January that the new hospital at Leeds General Infirmary has been included in Wave 2 of the programme and will not now start construction until some time between 2033-2035.