Leeds city centre named as best place to live in the north in The Sunday Times Best Places to Live North and Northeast Guide 2022

It chosen as one of the top areas in the annual Sunday Times Best Places to Live North and Northeast Guide.

This year, judges did not feature Manchester or Liverpool, making Leeds the 'top northern city'.

2022 also sees past winner York drop out of the publication entirely for the first time since 2019, despite scoring highly in the past for its transport links and excellent schools.

Judges praised the walkability of the city and the shops.

They said: "Yorkshire’s powerhouse has one of the best city centres in the country.

"It’s all walkable and a shopper’s paradise, whether they’re picking up provisions in the down-to-earth Kirkgate Market or browsing on-trend brands in the Trinity Leeds shopping centre. "

Sunday Times Best Places writer and judge, Jayne Dowle, said: "We took a fresh look at Leeds city centre this year as the pandemic has had a massive influence. Not perhaps in the way that you might think.

"We’ve noticed that a lot of younger people - under 30s to be specific - are making the city centre their own, perhaps after having gone home to their parents during lockdowns.

"It’s become clear to us that Leeds has a lot to offer younger renters and first-time buyers, and also older downsizers who want shops, restaurants and theatres in walking distance.

"There’s a lot of culture in Leeds and it’s being revitalised since lockdowns ended.

"We are also impressed with the pace of diversification in terms of housing stock; for instance, there’s the Climate Innovation District on formerly derelict industrial land, with more than 500 new homes underway, including townhouses.

"It’s not all Identikit apartments these days.”

Judges picked the village of Slaithwaite, near Huddersfield, was named as the winner of the North and Northeast guide this year.

They said: "Slaithwaite, West Yorkshire (winner): "The combination of countryside, connectivity and a community full of independence and imagination make this canalside mill village the perfect place to pursue post-pandemic happiness.

"Trains to Leeds and Manchester offer an easy escape route, there’s magical moorland scenery on the doorstep, and businesses such as the co-operative Handmade Bakery or the “children’s concept store” Acorn and Pip are an inspiring change from the usual chains."

Other areas included Cawthorne, Great Ayton, Harrogate, Hovingham, Ilkley, Morpeth and Tynemouth.

Ilkley, LS29, was named as the best places to live across the whole of the UK in the guide.

Helen Davies, The Times and Sunday Times Property Editor said: “The Sunday Times Best Places to Live list is necessarily subjective. Leave it just to statistics and you will never capture the spirit of a place. For that, you need to visit to take into account that ‘you have to be here’ feeling. Is the pub dog-friendly, for example? Can you live car-free? What are the schools and houses like? Is it multicultural and multigenerational, and can it offer a good way of life to lots of different sorts of people?

“Ten years ago, when we launched the inaugural list, London’s gravitational pull was strong, the WFH revolution had not yet reached our doorstep and high streets were stacked with chains. How times have changed — and how welcome that change is.

“This year we have discovered new best places to live, from resurgent city centres in the North, rejuvenated suburbs across the country, hidden villages in the Southwest, and a commutable Scottish island.

“We hope there is something to suit everyone.”