Steven Knight from Peaky Blinders thinks. we can create an amazing film culture here in the midlands.
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00:00So great, thanks for coming today. I just want to use this opportunity to restate my
00:22priorities for the next four years, building on my campaign messages and the key content
00:29of my manifesto, and those key priorities are set out on these boards behind me. I'll
00:35take each of them in turn on jobs. We've got some real issues in this region. We've got
00:41around a quarter of the workforce in West Midlands without the skills to get better
00:47paid jobs, and as most of you will know, we've got twice as many young people out of work
00:53than the national average, and some parts of the region, the figure's even worse than
00:59So my key focus is on getting investment and skills, particularly to our young people,
01:04so we can give them access to the skills and training they need to get better jobs and
01:09better paid jobs, the fabric to turn this region around, and giving young people in
01:14this region, particularly, opportunities to succeed and thrive in the future. On homes,
01:21we've got around 46,000 families living in temporary accommodation, poor quality, high
01:30cost accommodation without security or tenure. It's shocking, it's a terrible impact on the
01:39knowledge quarter. Those investment zones we should believe will attract around £500
01:46million in investment and create 30,000 jobs. My responsibility and my commitment is ensuring
01:51those jobs go to people in this region, and particularly our young people. As I've said
01:56before, too many of our young people from the poorest backgrounds have been overlooked
02:00and left behind for too long. Finally, when we get to our transport system, we've got
02:06now the first stage in place to take our buses back into public control, and I hope we'll
02:12be able to deliver a franchising system that they've got in Manchester, a franchising system
02:17that will allow me and other leaders in this region to take control of our bus network.
02:21It's critically important, 80% of the people in this region that use the public transport
02:26use the bus network, and it's failing our communities. Currently, people in this region
02:30can't get to work, can't get to college, can't get to the shops, and can't get to the doctors
02:36and hospitals because the buses do not serve our communities. So our plan is to franchise
02:40the bus network, bring buses back into control, and deliver a bus network that meets the needs
02:45of all of our communities. And if we do that, if we deliver jobs, growth, homes, and a transport
02:52system, and as it says up here, allow them to get journeys and connect across this region.
02:58For the first time in 15 years, we can give people in this region hope. Hope that their
03:02lives can be better, hope that their family's got a better future here, and hope that the
03:07places where they live have a better future too. Thank you.
03:11A friend of mine who's made a fantastic investment in this place, and Stephen's going to say
03:15a few words about his plans for Digleth Lock and the region. And what I'd like to just
03:20say before I do that, I'll be working really close with Stephen about some work we're going
03:24to do on a joint production office, but I'll hand over to Stephen now who's going to set
03:28out some of his very important plans that are going to help us transform this industry
03:32and creative sector in Birmingham and West Midlands. Thank you.
03:35Thank you. First of all, many apologies that I've arrived late. I've been banging the drum
03:41for Birmingham and Digleth at the Royal Television Society this morning. The journey here was
03:47interesting to say the least. But anyway, we're here now. And eight years ago, I thought
03:55it would be a great idea for there to be a film and television studio in Birmingham.
04:00It was sort of before lots of regions were doing that, before the idea of a film and
04:05television studio became quite a normal thing. We're now at a stage where we have made incredible
04:15progress to take what I think is a beautiful place like this, the beautiful Victorian architecture,
04:26the warehouses that are here, the canal system you can see behind, is to take that space
04:34and do with it something that probably no other industry could do with it. You know,
04:40when a film producer, television producer comes and sees that great big warehouse there
04:46with a leaky roof and no columns in the middle and a flat concrete floor, that is gold dust
04:54to a film producer because that's what we need. So these big buildings that we have
04:58in plenty in the Digleth area, it looks, as soon as I came here, it looked like film production
05:06in the world. And so we are making the most of the fact that we have been given this legacy
05:13by our wonderful Victorian predecessors.
05:16There isn't, in this city, there isn't any money. No, I don't mean just in the council.
05:23There is not any money in terms of grants for us. I have to give a mention to Homes
05:29England who have been fantastic. Homes England own this place a lot. But they've been great
05:35and they have been forthcoming. But we have to operate on the assumption that we have
05:40to do it ourselves, which is fine, and that's what we're doing.
05:43I thought St. Richardshead was really interesting about that there are people investing in Birmingham
05:47yourself. Knighthead with Birmingham City, I mean we saw a star-studded game last night,
05:51I don't know if you saw it. That's why my voice is like that, honestly.
05:55So you know, there is this international interest in Birmingham already, so do you think we're
05:59not promoting ourselves properly? Well we're beginning to, I think. You know,
06:02I think that stuff like, and this is the interesting thing, is that things that people think are
06:06a bit of a laugh and sort of peripheral and not important really are. So, for example,
06:11last night that game was broadcast live across the United States. I don't know if this is
06:18all true, but a Wrexham game gets the same viewing figures as a Man U game. So this is
06:25Wrexham Blues, Blues win, Tom Brady's us, David Beckham is us. So an American audience
06:31is going to sit up and take notice of things like that. So that's what we've got to do.
06:36I think in the past, because we're from Broome, we don't want to get too show-offy and big
06:41for our boots, but I think the time's come where we've got to actually put the word out.
06:46We've heard quite a bit from you about the idea for the studio here and all that.
06:51It just keeps going on and on. But I really like the analogy about the village
06:55that you were talking about just then. Can you tell us a little bit about that?
06:58Well, if we do it right, we get the studios here and we get the production pipeline coming
07:03through, which means that someone can live in this neighbourhood and be a carpenter or
07:08a spark or a driver and can be confident that this place will be their place of employment,
07:15whether it's, I don't know, Star Wars or whatever, some television show. There's something
07:20going on. We need to keep that. Otherwise, no-one is going to live here and move here
07:26knowing that they're only going to get work three months of the year. So we've got to
07:30make sure there's a proper pipeline. Things like Masterchef are gold, because they're
07:34shooting, I think, 48 weeks of the year, which is incredible. So the more of that stuff we
07:39can get, I'm putting together what I hope will be a returning series about university
07:45students, which will be shot here. So what we need is those continuing series to keep
07:52the employment. We don't want any noise. We don't want loud noises. But yeah, that's what
08:00we need, is a production pipeline. And the village idea is that people live here, they
08:05walk to work, they cycle to work. And so this becomes like a media. Media's the wrong
08:12word. A sort of creative environment.
08:15And we're doing a lot in a day's time, which is exciting.
08:19Well, we start off on location, actually, but then we're here.
08:22Obviously, you've filmed a series in and around this area before, but how much does it mean
08:28bringing the movie to the production studios here that you've back-sown to Tommy?
08:32Well, I mean, in truth, the TV series, we shot a lot of it in Manchester, against my
08:40will, because I always said we should be shooting here. But the common, and this is the thing
08:45about film, the common wisdom was the locations are not there, because they all got bombed
08:50or they got torn down. The film location people have come and they've found some amazing locations.
08:58So a lot of the location stuff will be here. Of course, we'll be using the Black Country
09:04Museum again, and we'll be building sets at the top of the studios.
09:12Pleasure to meet you. You talk so passionately about Digberth. What do you think the future
09:17will look like for the arts and culture sector here in the city?
09:20You know, we've got to do stuff that identifies the city and gives it its own identity.
09:27So you're committed to the sector in the city?
09:29Totally, yeah. I mean, it's too late to pull out now.
09:32Stephen, I'm not sure how much you meant to say about it, but the hotel that you've mentioned...
09:36Oh, God, I shouldn't be talking about that.
09:38Why is it that you want a hotel here? How much can you tell us at this stage?
09:42Well, let me just say, I want there to be accommodation within walking distance of the
09:47studios, so that people are not getting into cars. I want it to be very green. You know,
09:51I'd prefer them to get in a boat than have to drive. Why not, you know? And the idea
09:58would be either have people living close by and working, or have people in. The appeal
10:05to crew and actors and people, they finish work probably at midnight or one o'clock in
10:13the morning, and they walk to their room. They don't wait for a cab to go to some criminal
10:18When can we expect to hear something about that?
10:21Have you said too much already?
10:23That's all from me, thank you.
10:27Are the locations in the Black Country to have potential to be important in the Port
10:30of the Centre?
10:31Listen, I went with the location people along the canals into the Black Country, and they
10:38have found some places that are like cathedrals. They're absolutely amazing. The thing is,
10:43I loved the Black Country. I used to go there with my dad. You'd go into nail-making yards
10:50and horseshoe-making yards and things like that. Amazing people. I loved the Black Country
10:56and the sense of humour was great.
10:58We're great.