When plans were first announced in the 1980s to turn East London’s abandoned Docklands into a second business district, many thought it looked like a gamble.
But those plans were not about trying to build something entirely from scratch on the moon. They were about providing more space for London’s existing financial institutions to thrive.
So today – as much as there can be a healthy rivalry between Canary Wharf and the Square Mile – “The City” as a collective whole and as an engine of the UK and international economy is bigger and stronger than it was before, thanks to the Docklands’ development.
Similarly, the City today undoubtedly extends to other parts of the UK, and we should welcome any plans to deepen and expand this, and not treat it as a zero-sum policy which takes away from London.
After all, any plans and proposals which strengthen The City by opening it up to new opportunities and talent are a boon to the entire UK by supporting one of our most productive sectors.
Within this context, the Bank of England’s decision to move 1 in 10 staff out of London to Leeds is not a threat to The City of London, but a way to broaden and deepen its relevance to the rest of the country.
In Leeds’ case, there is a long history to the area being a centre of finance, as the number of banks and building societies sporting Yorkshire placenames attest.
Moreover, as a blue plaque on the side of a handsome Leeds city centre building, a stone’s throw from the palatial Victorian Leeds Town Hall attest “The Bank of England opened a branch in Leeds in 1827”.
The same plaque goes on to note the Bank moved to another site in Leeds in 1971, to serve as its regional headquarters.
Crucially, however, the Bank of England’s latest plans only make sense because they are building on existing strengths.
A good historical comparison is the BBC’s announcement in 2006 to move part of its national operations to Salford in Greater Manchester.
Reaction to the BBC’s plans ranged from condescension – “it’ll never work” – through to outright hostility, claiming it was a politically motivated waste of licence fee payer money.
But criticism of the BBC at the time ignored that the broadcaster’s move was building on several decades of both the BBC and ITV having an established presence in Manchester, as part of a wider “ecosystem” of media, creative industries and universities.
Nearly twenty years on, the BBC hasn’t looked back and now produces thousands of hours of radio, sports, children's, breakfast and daytime programming from Salford – all whilst of course retaining a world-class newsroom in London.
It’s this ecosystem point that explains why the Bank of England’s plans for Leeds add up.
Leeds already has one of the largest financial, legal and professional services footprints of anywhere in the UK outside of the City of London. Indeed, the Financial Conduct Authority is expanding its presence in Leeds and the National Wealth Fund is headquartered in Leeds.
This “agglomeration” (as economists would call it) is not displacing economic activity but enabling it.
For example, tech companies such as mine – an Infratech business focused on Electric Vehicle recharging – have joined other tech firms in choosing Leeds given the access to talent and professional services needed to scale, plus a geographic location which makes sense for firms with a UK-wide national logistical focus.
So, the Old Lady of Threadneedle Street is no stranger to West Yorkshire and is already in good company there.
All we need to see now is The London Standard being handed out in Leeds city centre in the not-too-distant future.
Robin Heap is CEO and Founder at the Leeds-based Electric Vehicle charging business Zest
