Leeds Development Corporation

The Secretary of State for the Environment, Nicholas Ridley, announced his intention to establish the Leeds Development Corporation (LDC) to Parliament in December 1987, but LDC did not receive its planning powers until 5 October 1988. In the meantime, LDC board members were appointed and a draft Development Plan was prepared.

In February 1988 a firm called Pieda were appointed to advise the Secretary of State (SSE) on the precise boundaries for the Urban Development Area, and the overall feasibility of the project. Pieda consulted widely among Leeds property and business interests, but did not consider it necessary to consult with the people who lived near the proposed UDA, or with their elected representatives.

Among the companies retained by Pieda to provide detailed advice on their report were the Leeds commercial property agents Weatherall Hollis & Gale (now Weatherall, Green & Smith) whose senior partner, David Richardson, assisted in the preparation of the Pieda report. Mr Richardson was already a private sector director of LCDC Ltd, and a member of the specialist LCDC sub-committee working on the Kirkstall Valley project. He was also the land agent for the Leeds Schools Sports Association (LSSA) which owned the "Archie Gordon" sports ground in the Kirkstall Valley. No mention of these interests was made in the Pieda report, however this report did recommend an extension of the boundaries of the UDA in the Kirkstall Valley so as to include the LSSA's land within the development envelope. It had previously been zoned as private playing fields, which were protected open space.

Mr Richardson was subsequently appointed to the LDC board, together with Mr John Jackson, who was another LCDC Director and a member of the LCDC Kirkstall Valley working party. Mr Jackson had previously sought the Conservative Parliamentary nomination in NE Leeds on the resignation of Sir Keith Joseph, but was defeated by Timothy Kirkhope, who became the NE Leeds MP. An curious association developed between LDC and the Conservative Party in NE Leeds, and in particular with Roundhay Ward, as outlined in the following table:

Officially, Development Corporations were supposed to avoid party politics, apart from the local councillors who were acknowledged to play a political role. The reality was quite otherwise, with the LDC Chairman, Peter Hartley, and the Director of Development, Stuart Kenny also serving as Chairmen of the Roundhay Ward Conservative Association during their service at the LDC. This was apparently contrary to advice from the Department of the Environment. Cynics might say that the Conservative Party, having failed to get its candidates elected through the ballot box in Leeds, sought to impose them instead through a non-elected quango.

In addition to their political connections, the "private sector" members of the LDC board had much else in common, living in the same area of the city (NE Leeds), serving on the same company boards, and holding positions in the same professional body: the Leeds Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Most disturbing to the local residents, however, were the connections between the LDC board and the major landowners in the Kirkstall Valley, John Waddington plc and the Headingley Football Club (later renamed as the Leeds Rugby Union Football Club).

These relationships gradually came to light between 1989 and 1996, causing great concern to local residents, and also to the LDC board, who sought legal advice on the subject. John Watson was a Director of John Waddington plc, who sold their land to Mountleigh Northern Developments Ltd as the LDC was starting up, while Peter Hartley and John Jackson were former players for Headingley Football Club. John Jackson was a Vice President of Headingley FC, while David Richardson and Stuart Kenny became Vice Presidents during their service with the LDC. Although the majority of these interests should be described as "non-pecuniary", local residents felt that landowners enjoyed priviliged access to the LDC board, and that property interests would weigh more heavily with the LDC board than the welfare of the local communities.