Digbeth regeneration plans announced

Manufacturing businesses across the West Midlands are to receive expert guidance and funding, to capitalise on a new wave of economic opportunities. 

A brand new production centre designed to attract international film directors and producers has just been revealed, set to rival ‘Salford’s Media City’. Part of the Warwick Bar Prospectus, the plans also include 11,000 sq ft of creative workspace in addition to the creation of 1,700 homes. 

The film aspect of the regeneration plans, is to create ‘Production Central WM’, which has been designed to attract influential people from the film and TV industry. 

Mayor Richard Parker said: “Digbeth will be bigger, better and bolder than Salford’s Media City. A place known for its grit and graft, it is at the cusp of its renaissance as a top location for the creative industries.” 

The Warwick Bar development will draw on the government’s £25m Creative Places Growth Fund for the West Midlands, which was announced by Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, who said “Birmingham and the West Midlands are full of untapped creative potential, and this development will enable more creatives from the region to tell their own stories, create world-class content and drive economic growth”. 

The BBC also signed an agreement with Mayor Richard Parker in September to further support creative growth in the region.