Recently I read an article on the Chronicle Live website about a bid to make Newcastle a UK leader for the creative industries.
It brought to mind a blog post I'd looked at on the DMA website entitled:
How will the Northern Powerhouse affect London’s creative industries?
Richard Sharp cites an article published in Campaign by the CEO of CHI Partners, Sarah Golding. Sarah speculates that in order to attract the best talent creative agencies may need to quit London.
She argues that a ‘jobs-rich but poor-pay’ creative sector will lead to talented under 30’s seeking opportunities outside the capital to enjoy better living standards as well as affording them a realistic chance of buying a property.
Our challenge is to ensure the best talent considers the North East as a viable option to not only pursuit their careers but also to start new businesses.
Manchester already has a huge head start after the BBC’s relocation to Salford. This has resulted in a 75% increase in people employed in the creative industries between 2011 and 2014 according to a recent KPMG report. There are 6,500 people employed at the MediaCityUK site alone. The KMPG report goes on to say the economic contribution of the BBC - and the MediaCityUK development - is vital to Chancellor George Osborne’s vision of a ‘Northern Powerhouse’.
In this region 1 in 20 jobs are classed as being within the creative economy, according to statistics presented in a 2014 report published by the Department for Culture Media & Sport. That compares to 1 in 12 for the UK as whole and 1 in 6 in London. In the capital that translates into 735,000 jobs - more than half of this regions 1.27m total labour supply.
Later in the DMA article, Richard Sharp poses his own vision for a Northern creative cluster.
Could the Northern Powerhouse become the next Silicon Valley or Madison Avenue with super creative companies existing all along and around the M62 corridor?
I back the Newcastle initiative wholeheartedly as we have to ensure that any Northern Powerhouse inspired creative cluster doesn’t stop at Leeds.
