Studios plan gives us fighting chance
DEAR Editor, As someone who is keen to see a major increase in broadcasting, programme and film making in Birmingham and the West Midlands it was positive to see the progress made by Create Central and the recent announcement regarding the new Digbeth Loc studios.
We in this region have been treated particularly badly by the BBC, ITV and Channel 4.
The BBC have stated they want to increase their current paltry investment in our region, we will see.
Channel 4 have little investment or interest in our region but now claim they want to work in collaboration with Create Central to produce programmes. We will see!
ITV have very little investment or interest in our region, other than what is required to produce their version of Midland news. A campaign has been in existence for many years to right the wrongs of the past, wrongs that are still evident today.
However, Create Central appear to be making positive progress and hopefully their collaboration with the BBC will be a great success. Congratulations are in order to those responsible for running Create Central and Andy Street for his support of this venture.
It was also very positive to hear that Lenny Henry and Adil Ray have agreed to become involved with Create Central. Any efforts to increase our region’s involvement in broadcasting and making programmes for television and film will need the support of high profile Midlanders. Lenny Henry and Adil Ray fit the bill perfectly.
Congratulations are also in order for Steven Knight, following the announcement of the long awaited Digbeth Loc Studios. This has taken some considerable time to get to this stage and I’m sure that negotiations, difficult at the best of times, were hardly helped by a worldwide pandemic.
These developments give Birmingham and the West Midlands the opportunity to begin to re-establish itself again as a broadcasting centre. Hopefully they will also establish the region as a film making centre.
Of course these developments have not yet had enough time to prove if they can deliver and much work still needs to be done before we can really celebrate.
However, they do provide our region with a fighting chance to benefit from the creative opportunities generated, plus the employment and the PR opportunities that other regions within the UK already benefit from.
Never underestimate how important it is having a vibrant broadcasting industry in your region. Some people in our region already know this. However, our local politicians need to give their support in greater and more coordinated action, and more support from the general public wouldn’t go amiss either.