:00:11. > :00:12.Good evening, and welcome to the late Look North.
:00:13. > :00:15.Thousands more shoppers in Leeds, but business isn't booming
:00:16. > :00:17.for all stores in the city's new retail centre.
:00:18. > :00:20.The Harrogate Flower Show gets underway, with visitors asked
:00:21. > :00:26.It's a fairly cloudy story over the next few days. But high pressure is
:00:27. > :00:30.in charge. I will have the full forecast shortly.
:00:31. > :00:32.Tonight, is Yorkshire's newest flagship shopping centre failing
:00:33. > :00:37.It's six months since Victoria Gate opened in Leeds.
:00:38. > :00:39.It was dubbed the Knightsbridge of the North.
:00:40. > :00:42.But although the number of shoppers in the city centre
:00:43. > :00:44.has increased by 3%, there are signs that trade for some
:00:45. > :00:49.outlets in the development hasn't been as brisk as hoped.
:00:50. > :00:53.Here's our Business Correspondent, Danni Hewson.
:00:54. > :00:56.Thursday morning, and things are pretty quiet.
:00:57. > :01:00.But Victoria Gate has always been about quality, not quantity.
:01:01. > :01:04.And management insist they are happy with footfall.
:01:05. > :01:06.We feel very comfortable with the customer numbers that we're
:01:07. > :01:11.Typically we have a higher spend and slightly lower volume
:01:12. > :01:14.of customers to what you'd find in a typical shopping centre.
:01:15. > :01:16.That's totally to be expected, given the line-up and mix
:01:17. > :01:21.Probe a little, and it's clear not all shops are making the kind
:01:22. > :01:25.Now the novelty has worn off, even high-end retailers are facing
:01:26. > :01:30.Competition from online, yes, but also rising inflation eating
:01:31. > :01:40.I don't know, I feel like we've already got shops we can use,
:01:41. > :01:47.You know, because obviously it's big, and obviously you can go
:01:48. > :01:53.Sometimes you just look in to see if there's
:01:54. > :01:55.Because obviously that's what we do nowadays.
:01:56. > :01:58.It's really nice to go there, but I really don't
:01:59. > :02:02.There's not much retailers can do about the cash in your wallet.
:02:03. > :02:04.But shoppers can be tempted from their couches
:02:05. > :02:09.By the summer, the rooftops of Victoria Gate will be home
:02:10. > :02:13.to D London's third and fourth Leeds hotspot.
:02:14. > :02:16.Both a Japanese eatery and a New York bar.
:02:17. > :02:19.Leeds has got a very young scene, it's got a very music scene.
:02:20. > :02:22.It's got a big food and beverage offer now inside Leeds,
:02:23. > :02:25.which thousands upon thousands of people coming to Leeds every
:02:26. > :02:30.As for online shopping, most brands have a digital presence.
:02:31. > :02:36.Shops have become primarily a window to be dressed to impress.
:02:37. > :02:39.Bricks and mortar retailers, the key focus they've got to look
:02:40. > :02:41.at is making sure that customers get something extra when they
:02:42. > :02:46.You can't just have transactional retail any more, where it's pick
:02:47. > :02:51.You know, every single sector from luxury to high street
:02:52. > :02:54.really needs to focus on what they are doing in stores
:02:55. > :02:57.to make their customer connect with the brand and to make them keep
:02:58. > :02:59.wanting to come back to the high street.
:03:00. > :03:09.Catherine Shuttleworth is a retail analyst from Leeds.
:03:10. > :03:13.I asked her why some of the stores could be struggling.
:03:14. > :03:16.Well, it's a brand-new centre, it's only been going for six months.
:03:17. > :03:18.And some of these stores in this centre are brand-new.
:03:19. > :03:21.Not just to Leeds, but to a lot of shoppers in the region.
:03:22. > :03:25.So I think it'll take them a bit of time to find their feet.
:03:26. > :03:28.And also, since Christmas we've been tightening our belts financially.
:03:29. > :03:30.Not spending quite as much on luxuries and the things
:03:31. > :03:34.And these are the sort of stores that suffer straightaway when times
:03:35. > :03:39.As interest rates have got a bit higher, a lot of people have found
:03:40. > :03:43.But is this not a blow to the centre, then?
:03:44. > :03:45.There's been so much investment there, hasn't there?
:03:46. > :03:50.There's still developments upstairs on the roof
:03:51. > :03:56.It is a kind of iconic centre in the city, and it's
:03:57. > :04:00.So I don't think there will be panic yet, but there'll be a little bit
:04:01. > :04:03.of unsettled feeling that it's perhaps not taken off as quickly
:04:04. > :04:06.Yes, a 3% increase in the number of shoppers.
:04:07. > :04:09.Should that not be higher, considering some big names have
:04:10. > :04:14.I think it's difficult to judge it, because it opened just before
:04:15. > :04:16.Christmas, which is traditionally a time when we're all
:04:17. > :04:19.out on the high street and we are spending more
:04:20. > :04:22.So the high street in general has seen about a 1.3% increase
:04:23. > :04:27.And it does show that things are slowing down a little bit.
:04:28. > :04:31.I think we need to give this centre about a year or two before we can
:04:32. > :04:34.How much is political uncertainty a factor, do you think?
:04:35. > :04:37.I think it's a huge factor at the moment in terms
:04:38. > :04:41.We're all a little bit concerned about what's going to happen over
:04:42. > :04:44.That's been exacerbated this week by the announcement
:04:45. > :04:48.And we're just being really careful about what we spend
:04:49. > :04:52.We want value, whether we're spending ?500 or ?5.
:04:53. > :04:56.Do you think Leeds has now reached a limit in terms of new shops
:04:57. > :05:01.Leeds is one of the premier retail centres in the UK,
:05:02. > :05:05.I think it's fantastic we've got these different centres.
:05:06. > :05:11.We've got Trinity, we've got the market, we've got Briggate.
:05:12. > :05:18.It's always difficult to say, isn't it, whether we've got too much.
:05:19. > :05:21.Because the retail space keeps growing and people
:05:22. > :05:26.But there will be a point where we've kind of topped out.
:05:27. > :05:28.I don't think we are quite there yet.
:05:29. > :05:32.The Barnsley East MP Michael Dugher has said he's quitting Parliament.
:05:33. > :05:34.He won the seat for Labour in 2010, but was sacked
:05:35. > :05:36.from the Shadow Cabinet by Jeremy Corbyn last year.
:05:37. > :05:39.He's said he wants to "make a difference in life
:05:40. > :05:42.Meanwhile, the former Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls,
:05:43. > :05:44.who lost his seat in 2015, has confirmed he is not standing
:05:45. > :05:48.Mr Balls hasn't ruled out contesting a seat elsewhere.
:05:49. > :05:51.Three people have been arrested in Leeds on suspicion
:05:52. > :05:53.of intimidating jurors during a trial.
:05:54. > :05:56.In February, three men were jailed for killing 88-year-old Betty Laird
:05:57. > :06:02.They deliberately drove into the car she was travelling
:06:03. > :06:05.in so they could make fake compensation claims.
:06:06. > :06:07.During the trial, jurors reported being offered bribes.
:06:08. > :06:10.Today two men and a 15-year-old girl were arrested in Beeston
:06:11. > :06:13.and Harehills on suspicion of conspiracy to intimidate jurors
:06:14. > :06:21.The Proms - one of the biggest music events in the world,
:06:22. > :06:24.They'll travel to Hull this summer, leaving London
:06:25. > :06:29.Three open-air concerts are being held in July.
:06:30. > :06:32.It's part of the city's UK Capital of Culture programme.
:06:33. > :06:40.Thousands of people have been heading to North Yorkshire
:06:41. > :06:43.for the first day of the Harrogate Spring Flower Show.
:06:44. > :06:45.They've been treated to eye-popping displays of the best blooms
:06:46. > :06:52.If there's a plant you fancy, chances are you'll find it there.
:06:53. > :07:05.There's only one phrase for it - blooming marvellous.
:07:06. > :07:08.The Harrogate Spring Flower Show really cocks a snook at the winter
:07:09. > :07:11.with a gorgeous celebration of what's to come on the gardening
:07:12. > :07:21.And, especially for this show, these amazing floral costumes,
:07:22. > :07:28.Some of them take about three months to make.
:07:29. > :07:31.I had to do this one in a hurry because this is actually meant
:07:32. > :07:37.And I was actually sort of doing the statements at about 4pm
:07:38. > :07:44.Yes, that was sort of popped in the suitcase and came.
:07:45. > :07:47.Incredible what months of work can achieve.
:07:48. > :07:53.This was one of the show garden plots last week.
:07:54. > :08:07.It is going to be a memorial garden for the Royal Logistics Corps,
:08:08. > :08:11.And the Military Wives Choir was on hand to fill this
:08:12. > :08:20.# That leaves your soul to breathe #.
:08:21. > :08:22.Seeing it come to life has been fantastic.
:08:23. > :08:27.We'll have to deconstruct and then reconstruct it on camp
:08:28. > :08:31.for the soldiers and their families for years to come.
:08:32. > :08:32.It's been a great collaborative effort.
:08:33. > :08:34.And I'm really pleased with the result.
:08:35. > :08:38.To have won gold and Best in Show is just outstanding.
:08:39. > :08:43.It's remarkable what you can do with plants.
:08:44. > :08:51.The floristry displays are inspiring.
:08:52. > :08:54.Thousands have enjoyed them today, and will
:08:55. > :09:11.Sheffield swimmer Max Litchfield has broken a British record.
:09:12. > :09:12.The 22-year-old won the 400m individual medley
:09:13. > :09:14.at the British Swimming Championship this evening in his home
:09:15. > :09:17.His time guarantees him a place at this summer's
:09:18. > :09:34.First thing is first, is your microphone working?! You hearing me
:09:35. > :09:39.loud and clear? Technical problems, live telly, that's why we love it!
:09:40. > :09:43.High-pressure is in charge of the next few days. It is good if you
:09:44. > :09:47.will be pretty cloudy. We set the will be pretty cloudy. We set the
:09:48. > :09:51.scene for tomorrow in the same way. Overnight, a dry picture for most of
:09:52. > :09:59.us. Cloud gets a bit thicker in northern and western parts, could
:10:00. > :10:02.squeeze out a bit of light rain and drizzle on higher ground maybe. Look
:10:03. > :10:05.at the temperatures, overnight lows, 8-9dC. We will not have to worry
:10:06. > :10:08.about frost tomorrow morning. Early-morning brightness across
:10:09. > :10:14.parts of East and north Yorkshire, some sunshine. Further west, thicker
:10:15. > :10:19.cloud, maybe some light rain or drizzle on higher ground on the
:10:20. > :10:24.Pennines. Temperatures tomorrow, look at this, 14 or 15 Celsius. That
:10:25. > :10:28.will feel pleasant if you are out and about. You can see some gaps
:10:29. > :10:33.where we could see some drizzle in the often noon, and a westerly
:10:34. > :10:37.breeze. We have high pressure in charge, and if we come to the
:10:38. > :10:46.pressure chart, alas, here is the high pressure. In the weekend,
:10:47. > :10:49.Saturday is looking OK. Introducing thicker cloud and maybe some light
:10:50. > :10:55.rain and drizzle across western parts. But we noticed this cold air
:10:56. > :11:00.flooding down from the north later this week. We could see some wintry
:11:01. > :11:00.showers, yes, I said wintry showers. I
:11:01. > :11:04.week for much of the UK and for more about that and the UK outlook, Helen
:11:05. > :11:12.Willetts. The sunshine make such a difference
:11:13. > :11:17.this time of year, only 12 or so degrees under the cloud today but 19
:11:18. > :11:21.in eastern Scotland not far away from St Andrews. Also in north-east
:11:22. > :11:25.England, where we had the majority of the decent sunshine. Even under
:11:26. > :11:29.cloud it was dry for the most part. We have this week whether forgiving
:11:30. > :11:33.showers in the south. This weather front starting to pep up in the
:11:34. > :11:37.North, it'll change the feel of the weather for all of us in the coming
:11:38. > :11:41.36 hours. Through the night very little changes, cloud comes and
:11:42. > :11:47.goes, there will be missed a shallow fog south of the M4. Possibly the
:11:48. > :11:48.odd pocket of ground frost here and there. You can see the rain