I’m proud of impact BBC’s had on north
WHEN the BBC moved a significant part of its operations to Salford the outcry was deafening. The BBC had ‘lost its marbles’; ‘it’s grim up north’ screamed the headlines.
Six years later, with more than 3,000 staff generating more than 35,000 hours of content every year, as well as a plethora of BBC apps and websites, BBC North is a huge success.
The London-based Centre for Cities claims the BBC’s move to Salford has had a ‘negligible’ impact on Greater Manchester’s economy. Did they ask anyone here about that? Have they seen the regeneration and investment our move kick-started?
At last count the BBC puts more than £420m a year into the regional economy. We play a significant role in the creative and digital economies in Greater Manchester, and across the north of England. More importantly the content we create for the whole BBC better reflects the lives, passions and concerns of licence fee payers who live here.
MediaCityUK is home to the BBC, ITV, University of Salford, the UTC and City College as well as more than 250 creative and digital businesses. More than 7,000 people work here and that figure continues to grow. Indeed, the BBC is currently recruiting an additional 200 people into digital roles.
Salford was recently ranked in the top five hot spots for start-up companies, with more than 1,300 new companies launching new businesses between January and March. In Greater Manchester, the digital sector has doubled its worth since 2010 to £3.1bn.
Would that have happened without the BBC? Does that sound ‘negligible’?
By any measure; economic, creative, cultural and more, our move has delivered benefits in spades.
I’m proud to lead the BBC in the north. I’m proud of what we’ve all achieved here. Alice Webb, Director, BBC North and BBC Children’s
Give Carney Brexit bill
DOES your correspondent, Peter Herridge, know that the state pension is as low as £170 per week (Make the pensioners pay for Brexit, Viewpoints, August 10)? Does he really think I can pay for Brexit out of that? If anyone should pay, it is Mark Carney, the Canadian governor of the Bank of England. His ridiculously low interest rate is the basis of the country’s problems. Because of that, the value of the pound has dropped, so imports are dearer, holidays abroad cost more, and there is no investment in Britain.
He forecast that Brexit would prompt a recession, and, to make sure that his prophesy turned out to be correct, he dropped the interest rate. Brilliant! Noël Broadgate, via email n
I FIND it difficult that there are still people using the UK pensioners as whipping boys.
Speaking for myself, I have worked since the age of 15, paid my dues, which included National Insurance.
In return I expected a basic pension, bolstered by my private pension, of which I’m still taxed to pay for this glorious EU, what a joke!
I wish to point out to Mr Herridge that if we pensioners had had the same opportunity to see all the facts when we were conned into voting to join the common market, I can assure him that we would never had joined in the first place.
More than 90 per cent of what happened to the UK and its people since joining has been so damaging.
The cost of membership which we pensioners have been paying for more than 40 years was well and truly hidden by the government and opposition of the day.
The money we have wasted since joining is ridiculous. So Mr Herridge, I suggest you accept democracy, as we have always done.
If not emigrate to the EU, where they keep voting until it goes their way. Stewart Jones, Manchester
Happy with clean Quays
I VISITED the Quays this morning and was most happy and surprised to see that the flotsam that I brought to your attention on Monday had been cleaned up.
Great to see that via the M.E.N. the public are listened to and where necessary action is taken.
Congratulations to the M.E.N. for a virtuous piece of journalism and the pursuing of this problem.
Thanks to Salford council also for turning this issue around so quickly.
Very well done to all.