Totally agree about the council - and there are reasons for that that would be difficult to air! However, the same is true of Leeds (including the grandiose schemes which, if not failed, have the air of Poundland about them).
What has struck me most about the area is that, despite what has been written earlier, the game of "Beggar my neighbour" just about sums it up. If x has a facility, we must have a better one; if we can stop y getting something, it doesn't matter if we lose out as well. This internecine strife is worse than I have encountered anywhere else in the UK (even in East Lancs, or Scotland!) and doesn't hold out much hope for a "Northern Powerhouse".