Brighton and Hove fails to make Channel 4 creative hub shortlist

Channel 4 building in Horseferry Road, London (Credit: Tom Morris/Wikimedia Commons)

Brighton and Hove City Council said today (July 23) that it had not made the final shortlist.

But it said the broadcaster praised the city council and its local partners for a strong collaborative effort and for the amount of work that went into the bid.

The city’s independent TV production sector was praised, as well as the established talent pool, good educational links and a plan for skills development which was well thought through.

However, Channel 4 felt that Brighton & Hove’s location meant it would be drawing on a talent pool largely the same as in London which provided less of an opportunity for its relocation to have an impact in providing new opportunities for a local workforce.

Brighton and Hove is in the running to become a ‘creative hub’ for Channel 4

Cllr Daniel Yates, leader of Brighton and Hove City Council, said: “While we are disappointed not to have made it through to the next stage of the process, we are very proud of our bid which demonstrated all that this incredible city has to offer.

“We always understood that the push was to move resources and opportunities further North, beyond the South East region.

“Bidding has helped us to develop new partnerships in the city, which is already a thriving creative hub. Through bidding we have opened up fresh dialogue with this important sector. We are committed to working to build stronger production, post-production and associated industries here, as well as exploiting closer connections between our screen and tech sectors.

“This will leave us well-placed to bid for regional commissioning opportunities as they become available and we look forward to working with Channel 4 in the future.”

Channel 4 is looking for a new headquarters outside of London, with two regional hubs. Other cities that were in the running to become regional hubs included Belfast, Newcastle-Gateshead, Nottingham, Sheffield and Stoke on Trent.

Cities and regions which could become the channel’s national headquarters are Bristol, Cardiff, Glasgow, Greater Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool and the West Midlands.