Notable for its role in the regeneration of Leeds' city centre, and a programme of restoration and reuse which included commissioning the largest work of stained glass work in Europe,[1] designed by artist Brian Clarke,[2] to cover the newly pedestrianised Queen Victoria Street, the 1990 scheme created a covered retail district of linked arcades.

[3] Created in a major redevelopment programme through the restoration of the existing Victorian and Edwardian arcades, and the creation of a contemporary arcade through the pedestrianisation and glazing over of the adjacent Queen Victoria Street[4] with what was at the time the largest work of public art in England, and the largest secular stained glass work in the world,[5][6] designed by artist Brian Clarke.

[11] Matcham's newly-constructed Empire Theatre, around which the arcades were built, was intended to form the focal point of a civic complex modelled on the Galleria in Milan.

Having become dilapidated, the County and Cross Arcades were restored by Derek Latham & Co in phases between 1989 and 1996, and Queen Victoria Street was glazed over in its entirety with a stained glass canopy by British artist Brian Clarke,[13][14] bridging the two elevations of Queen Victoria Street on a self-supporting stainless steel and glass, split-level structure that sits between the original, listed buildings by Matcham.

[13][8] Cited as the largest work of public art in Britain at the time of its installation, the 749-square-metre stained-glass roof, which spans the 125-metre length[15] of Queen Victoria Street, was designed by painter Brian Clarke between 1988 and 1990 as an integral part of the development scheme.

[20] In 2010 Hammerson announced that work had commenced on a revised masterplan and in March 2011, an outline planning application for Eastgate Quarters developed by ACME was submitted to Leeds City Council.