Must Leeds always lose? 

Too prosperous to pity. Too poor to thrive

Attendees heading to Leeds Dock for the “Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum” in May are in for a treat. Infrastructure-lovers arriving in the northern city by train should go down into the bowels of the station, ignoring the whiff of damp from its position on arches above the River Aire. Cut through the quayside new-builds towards a crumbling stone jetty. A tram was supposed to link the dock to the station. It was never built. Leeds remains the biggest city in Europe without a mass-transit system. Instead, the Twee, a bright-yellow second-hand taxi boat from Amsterdam, has to do.

This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “Must Leeds always lose? ”

From the February 8th 2025 edition

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