Leeds Clarence Dock revamp plans to be unveiled

Clarence Dock in Leeds The development was described two years ago as a "ghost town"

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Plans are being unveiled to revitalise an ailing Leeds city centre waterside development as a hub for the digital and creative industries.

Property firm Allied London is behind the move to transform the Clarence Dock site.

The proposals will be unveiled at a council planning meeting later.

Of the 35 retail and restaurant units, 28 are unoccupied, and in 2010 one tenant described it as a "ghost town". The area will now be known as New Dock.

As part of the plans, the developer has also been working with the Royal Armouries Museum to look at ways it can turn the area into a major tourist attraction.

It hopes to make the area "more attractive for residents, workers and visitors".

Allied London bought the 150-year lease in January and was expected to pay the ground rent and rates for empty units, and service charges.

The development was created to transform the industrial riverside area into a fashionable urban village with upmarket shops and restaurants.

Since it opened in 2007, a coffee shop and clothes store have closed, with other businesses warning they could also be in trouble unless more people are drawn to the area.

There were concerns that the effects of the recession, coupled with the cost of car-parking, could have contributed to the lack of trade.

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