The Light (Leeds)

The Light is a leisure and shopping centre in Leeds, England.

It is located along The Headrow. It was built in 1930/31 and was known as Permanent House and was originally the headquarters of the Leeds Permanent Building Society prior to vacating to new premises in the 1990s at Lovell Park. The Browns restaurant at The Light uses the former banking hall.

Following a period in the 1990s when Permanent House was used as offices for Leeds City Council, the site was redeveloped, and this involved a demolition that involved the 61-metres-tall Leeds Permanent tower and other annexes which were constructed in the 1960s.

The Light had opened in 2001 and it has a retail area of 32,515 square meters and targets a high spender customer base. It contains Leeds' only city-centre cinema, a 13-screen multiplex cinema operated by Vue (formerly Ster Century). Also within The Light there are a number of restaurants, Nu bar / nightclub (formerly Life and latterly If), an Esporta health club, an Radisson SAS 4-star hotel and an NHS drop in centre. The Light also consists of a multi-story car park.

The Light has beed developed in such a way that shows the original building in most parts, so much that the buildings facial along The Headrow has hardly changed since the original structure was opened in 1931. The redevelopment of "'The Light" involved the incoporation of Fountain Street into the development. Since opening the tennants in the centre have remained fairly consistent.

The Light is close to The Merrion Centre and The St John's Centre. The St John's Centre can be accessed by leaving The Light via the upper ground level entrance on Albion Street and crossing the road which takes you directly into The St John's Centre.

Criticisms

Once criticism of the Light, is its exclusivity. The shops and restaurants in the Light are generally expensive and the development itself, much like the nearby Electric Press aims itself at the city's more affluent residents and visitors. The Light has also started charging for use of its toilets.

External links

* [http://www.thelightleeds.co.uk/ The Light Website]