Bristol considers MediaCity development
Bristol City Council is considering creating its own 'media hub' in the style of Salford's MediaCityUK as it looks for ways to rehouse the BBC.
As part of cost-cutting plans the BBC is considering a number of options for its presence in the city, including staying at its current site in Whiteladies Road.
In response to this, the City Council has started looking at a range of sites in the city with the potential to create a media hub for the BBC and the region’s creative and digital industries.
A delegation from Bristol - including the council, BBC and business representatives - visited Salford’s MediaCityUK recently to see for themselves how it has created wider economic regeneration and growth.
“The media hub would be a physical beacon to the rest of the country - and the world - that Bristol is a leading creative and digital centre,” said Bristol City Council Leader Barbara Janke.
“It would act as a catalyst for further investment and jobs, building on the importance of the BBC’s presence in the city.”
“The Council is therefore committed to doing all it can to make this project work, but we will only be able to achieve this goal with significant private sector investment.”
The Council would aim to house all the BBC’s current Bristol facilities - including its world-class Natural History Unit at the new site.
Like the Salford development, a new media hub would be built through a partnership with the private sector.
However the BBC has said that it would only move ahead with the project if they were satisfied they could find long-term savings through such a move and it gives real benefits for the licence fee payers.
The BBC’s location in the city is a key part of the Bristol-BBC Anchor Collaboration - which aims to build on Bristol’s strong creative and digital sectors to develop a dynamic production hub in the region.