Poor public transport is costing Leeds around £2.8billion a year in lost economic output, according to a shock new report.
Research from the Centre for Cities think tank has found that just four in 10 people in the UK’s largest cities outside London can reach their city centre by public transport in under 30 minutes.
This is significantly worse than in big European cities where almost seven in 10 people can travel to their city centre in less than 30 minutes.
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The think tank argues that as a result, the size of the labour market for businesses and access to high-paying, high-productivity jobs has been drastically reduced in the UK.
For instance, Leeds and Marseille have a similar population, but 87 per cent of people can reach the centre of Marseille in 30 minutes by public transport, compared to 38 per cent in Leeds.
The think tank is now calling for substantial planning reforms to better integrate the suburbs with public transport and city centres.
The Centre for Cities estimates that Manchester could add an extra £8.9billion to its economy if the changes were made, in Leeds that figure is £2.8billion, in Sheffield it's £2.3billion, in Newcastle it would be £1.7billion and in Liverpool £936million.
In all, it is estimated that the reforms could add around £23billion to the UK economy.
Centre for Cities’ Chief Executive Andrew Carter said: "Last week the Chancellor promised an ‘infrastructure revolution’ and the money being given to city-regions is much-needed.
"However, it will not be enough to level up transport while suburbs remain so sparse and car-dependent. Just half of neighbourhoods built more than one home in the last decade.
“To maximise benefits of infrastructure spending, and make new routes and regular services more viable, the Government needs to commit to significant reforms to the planning system to allow our cities’ suburbs to grow.
“We know that planning reform is controversial, but without it the Government’s investment on urban transport won’t level up. On the other hand, coupling the investment with planning reform will add more £23 billion to the economy.”
It comes a week after Chancellor Rishi Sunak confirmed that billions of pounds would head to Northern cities for transport infrastructure projects.
Mr Sunak's Budget saw £830million allocated to West Yorkshire and £570 million to South Yorkshire.
The think tank said that while the extra cash was welcome, around £31 billion would in fact be needed to make the kind of changes necessary.
Labour’s Shadow Transport Secretary Jim McMahon said: "Until we improve transport connectivity across the country, growth, investment and opportunity in our regions will continue to be stifled.
"If the Government was serious about unlocking our potential, it would deliver on the promises already made on HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail - not kick the can down the road and hope people don't notice they're being short-changed.”
A Government spokesperson said: “We’ve announced a comprehensive package to boost investment in places in need and improve people’s everyday lives, as we continue to level up across the country.
“We will be investing billions to improve transport in eight City Regions, with further funding specifically for vital new infrastructure and public services around the country.
“Work is also underway to reform the planning system. We're currently reviewing 44,000 responses to the significant changes we proposed last August, and will provide an update in due course."
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