TUNING IN FOR £1BN BATTLE
- the list of muchloved Channel 4 programmes made in this region slips easily off the tongue. But across the county, council bosses and creative directors are plotting a dramatic coup of their own; getting the station to relocate its headquarters from London to the north.
The prize is worth an estimated £1bn and as such, it is no surprise that the competition from across the UK to become the channel’s new home is fierce, nowhere more than in Yorkshire.
Leeds, Sheffield and Hull are among the local frontrunners, with the former’s bid also promising roles for York and Bradford in hosting the broadcaster should it be successful. York is backing the Leeds City Region bid whilst also pushing in parallel its own personal campaign to take on the channel.
Nationally, Manchester, Birmingham and Cardiff are amongst the dozen locations making the case they should be the place to benefit if Channel 4 is moved out of London.
But Sally Joynson, chief executive of Screen Yorkshire, believes there are compelling reasons why one of the cities in our region should be chosen ahead of their rivals elsewhere in the UK.
“One of the reasons we feel so strongly about bringing Channel 4 to Yorkshire is because all the current investment has focused on the western side of the UK - Belfast, Cardiff, Bristol, Birmingham and Manchester,” she says.
“The 18m-plus people on our side just haven’t had a look in. It feels as if people on the eastern side of the country are not properly represented. Moving Channel 4 would have a really significant impact in rebalancing that.”
A key argument made in the Leeds City Region submission is that the long-promised benefits for Yorkshire of the BBC moving thousands of staff to MediaCity in Salford have not come to fruition, with the site across the Pennines actually draining talent away from this region.
The fate of Countdown is an almost perfect example of this point. Filmed in Leeds for 27 years, before being moved to the Granada Studios in Manchester in 2009 and then to MediaCity four years later.
But there are considerable question marks over whether Channel 4 will leave London at all. When a Government consultation on increasing the channel’s regional impact was launched back in April by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, it was made clear the review was centred on “what extent should Channel 4 be based outside London, potentially including moving its headquarters”.
The Government report said just 25 out of more than 800 Channel 4 employees currently work outside London and expressed hopes that moving location could provide similar success for a local region that the BBC’s transfer of 2,500 staff to Salford in 2011 has had for Greater Manchester.
But three months on, Theresa May’s Government has lost its overall majority in the House of Commons, while Channel 4 has warned it will face “significant operational risks and financial costs” if it is ordered to relocate.
Despite the uncertainty, detailed bids have been drawn up by Yorkshire officials at short notice in the hope of winning Government support for their plans. Screen Yorkshire is officially backing the Leeds City Region but Joynson says that if any one of the local cities in the running to become the broadcaster’s new home is chosen, there would be considerable benefits for the entire region.
The consultation process means that there isn’t a formal bidding procedure in the way that is seen with accolades such as Capital of Culture awards. But in the 250 responses received to the consultation, 12 have involved cities putting forward their cases to be the new home of the channel. It is expected the Government’s response to the consultation will be published in around three months.
Sheffield has arguably come up with the most detailed of regional plans, putting forward proposals to establish a national institute of digital talent and technology if it is chosen as Channel 4’s new home.
The city council has identified a potential site for the headquarters on vacant land next to Sheffield railway station and claims the headquarters would bring an extra 4,000 jobs to the city and create an additional £1bn for the local economy - all while providing a new base for the station “at no cost” to the broadcaster.
Councillor Mazher Iqbal, cabinet member for business and investment at Sheffield City Council, says the initial investment by the council would be “tiny” in comparison to the long-term economic benefits.
Iqbal adds: “If you look at Salford and the regeneration that has taken place through MediaCity - for us that opportunity is why we have put in an ambitious plan. When you get something as big as this, it would be madness not to throw your hat in the ring. We have gone lock, stock and barrel to throw everything at it.”
The Leeds City Region bid meanwhile has the advantage of the support of Screen Yorkshire, as well as all the local councils, cities and towns in its area - covering York, Bradford, Harrogate, Wakefield, Calderdale, Kirklees, Barnsley and Craven.
Roger Marsh OBE, chairman of the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership, said: “Our bid addresses the huge imbalance that’s been allowed to develop, with virtually all investment going into the western side of the UK. Our proposals can bring positive impact and benefits to a very wide geographic area.
“We are convinced our ambition matches that of Channel 4: we’re both innovative challengers who like to do things differently.”
While York is supporting the Leeds City Region bid as a back-up plan, council leader David Carr has indicated it is pushing its own claim for the headquarters.
He has suggested York Central - a 72 hectare brownfield site behind the railway station - would be an ideal location for the channel’s base.
Hull City Council also announced last week it was throwing its hat into the ring, suggesting the station’s potential new headquarters could be on Humber Street, which is currently at the heart of Hull’s ongoing City of Culture celebrations this year.
Joynson says any of the cities being chosen as the home for some or all of Channel 4’s staff would be a victory for Yorkshire.
“Everyone knows this is a very controversial proposal, there is no one in Yorkshire who underestimates the challenges for Channel 4 and the sector if the move is pushed through. But we genuinely believe that the long-term benefits will outweigh the short-term pain. I’m very confident the whole of Yorkshire would unite to make sure it works. You have to be in it to win it.”