Last night I had the pleasure of hosting a panel at the Leeds Night Time Economy Group launch, titled “Has Leeds lost its nightlife crown? How do we win it back?” at Testbed.
There was a lot of passionate people in the room debating the source of the current challenges around building a triving nightlife in the city, and that was encouraging to see.
There was also anger and frustration at the situation. And we should be angry.
The panel highlighted clear failures where support just isn’t there, or friction is being introduced in areas where support is obvious and much easier to provide (over financial backing or licencing challenges).
We need to ensure that energy is bottled into action, though, and not as a burst of frustration towards the people in the scene attempting to bring it to life.
It is a complex situation that requires a formulated response (and one I think LNEG can help with). From a lack of sustainable venues to more support for promoters and grass roots events, the problems need calling out and working through.
Membership is (currently) free and worth getting involved in if you think you can be a part of the solution.