Clothing retailer Zara is to open a new flagship store in the former Topshop space inside the Trinity Leeds shopping centre.
Popular retailer Zara will be relocating from it's current location on Briggate to a much larger site in Trinity Shopping Centre.
The new 46,000 sq ft space is spread across three floors and was previously home to Topshop until 2021.
The new store will feature Zara’s woman, man, and kids collections and will also showcase the latest technological innovations from Zara's integrated online and physical store platform.
Image: Wikimedia Commons
Nik Porter, head of brand account management at retail landlord Landsec, said: "As guests demand more from their shopping experience, brands are prioritising prime locations that drive footfall, enable customer service and have an ability to integrate in-store and online shopping experiences.
"Our retail strategy allows us to work in partnership with brands holistically to find them the best locations and ensure that their physical presence adds value to their wider multichannel offer."
Zara follows behind a number of big brands relocating to Trinity shopping centre, including Space NK, Levis and Nespresso.
Image: Trinity Leeds
Steven Foster, centre director at Trinity Leeds, said: “We’ve been working hard on securing a top retailer for the impressive unit that Topshop previously occupied, and we’re so pleased that Zara has seized the opportunity to create an exciting new shopping experience for guests within this incredible space at Trinity Leeds.
“This big signing is proof that prime retail locations like Trinity Leeds, which sits in the heart of the city centre, continue to be in demand, and we can’t wait for people to see what Zara has planned.”
Although no official date has been announced, it is said that the new Zara shop will open at some point next year.
In honour of National Chocolate Week, two big brands are joining forces.
Fancy a freebie? Silly question, of course you do.
Tony’s Chocolonely and Yorkshire Tea have joined forces for National Chocolate Week to ask Brits to declare themselves a ‘Melt’...yes, really.
It comes after the brands discovering a new Gen Z dunking trend, with research finding that 80% of 18–24-year-olds say chocolate is their preferred tea-dunking treat.
To understand why the perculiar pairing has become so popular, the brands recruited Associate Professor of Psychobiology, Dr Lorenzo Stafford, to investigate what happens when tea and chocolate come together.
Associate Professor, Dr Lorenzo Stafford said: "It's fascinating to see how much thought Brits put into what makes a great dunk. Flavour, texture and temperature all shape how we experience food, and the combination of hot tea with melting chocolate creates a particularly enjoyable sensory experience.
"When it comes to dunking, tea and chocolate have great chemistry so it’s no surprise young people have embraced it."
If you want to try it out for yourself, then you can for free - but there is one catch.
From Monday 19 to Friday 23 October, anyone who walks into one of Hyde Park Book Club in Leeds and says ‘I'm a Melt’ will get a free mug of Yorkshire Tea and bar of Tony's Chocolonely.
Not only that, but the first 100 customers will also get a limited-edition ‘Melt’ cap.
Yorkshire Tea & Tony’s Chocolonely said of the partnership, “Brits love their tea and their chocolate and now the science shows why. This National Chocolate Week, we’re inviting everyone to give it a go, embrace their inner Melt and discover just how well chunky chocolate and a proper brew can work together.”
Leeds Bradford Airport strikes will NOT go ahead following ‘late offer’ over pay
Clementine Hall
This weekend's strikes at Leeds Bradford Airport have been cancelled.
Around 130 workers were set to walk out this weekend, Unite said, but this has been suspended to allow air traffic controllers to consider a new pay offer.
The Unite members planning on to go on strike were a mixture of air traffic control workers, customer experience staff, security staff and cleaners.
The workers involved in the dispute had recently come out of a four-year pay deal, with some of the departments having fallen behind other airports in equivalent roles.
Pay talks have been happening since December 2025, with the airport's formal offer not going far enough to address the lack of pay parity which led to the decision to strike.
However, as of yesterday 15 October, the workers have been given new pay offers from the airport and the strikes will not take place to allow a ballot on the offers.
Air traffic controllers and hourly paid staff are being balloted separately on their respective offers.
Unite regional officer Neil Whitaker said: "After receiving offers from Leeds Bradford Airport, we have suspended this week’s strike action in good faith to allow members to vote on pay deals.”
In a statement, Leeds Bradford Airport said: "While the ballot process continues with certain members of our frontline colleagues, we remain hopeful that a positive outcome can be achieved and that an agreement can be reached which works for everyone involved.
"Regardless of the outcome of this ballot, LBA has a robust contingency plan in place and will be operating as normal this weekend.
"Our focus remains on supporting a smooth and reliable experience for customers while maintaining safe and efficient airport operations."
Clementine Hall -
15th May 2023 
