Leeds should be positioned as the second city of UK design, say a number of respected designers. However, with brands such as Morrisons not fully embracing the value of good design and few companies showing its value on their balance sheet, it looks like there could be more important issues to address first.

Yorkshire – and in particular Leeds – should set out to position itself as the UK’s second centre for design. That was the conclusion of a Pricewaterhousecoopers hosted round-table discussion which took place in the city earlier this month.

The event, chaired by Freeserve co-founder Ajaz Ahmed, was attended by leading designers including Jonathan Sands of Elmwood, Ian Anderson of the Designers Republic, James Sommerville of Attik and Rob Wilmott of Quba. The group agreed with companies including Home and Thompson that the city could aggressively assert its design credentials. “Sometimes just making the claim is enough,” said Ahmed.