Warwickshire fails in C4 bid
AN AMBITIOUS bid to bring Channel 4 to Warwickshire has failed.
The county was not included on a shortlist that was published by the publicly-owned channel earlier on Wednesday.
Warwick District Council had submitted the bid for Leamington to be home to one of its two new creative hubs.
The West Midlands has, however, made it onto the shortlist for the new Channel 4 headquarters or one its two creative hubs, as part of the channel's move away from London.
Cllr Andrew Mobbs, leader of Warwick District Council, said: “Although we are disappointed not to be going further, for Leamington to even be in a position to submit a credible and competitive bid against much larger UK cities is testament to the great spirit of innovation and creativity inherent in our town.
"I would like to congratulate team Leamington for their hard work and dedication in putting this bid together.
"We would like to thank Craig Spivey Creative, all the local creative companies and our local universities and colleges for their support with the bid. We believe it truly represents the creative strength and diversity of our district.”
There were 30 bids in all and the shortlisted locations will now have to submit further details of their plans to Channel 4, with the winner expected to be announced in October.
On the shortlist for either the HQ or a creative hub are: Bristol, Cardiff, Glasgow, Greater Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, and West Midlands, and to become a creative hub are: Belfast, Brighton, Newcastle/Gateshead, Nottingham, Sheffield, and Stoke-on-Trent.
Channel 4’s chief commercial officer, Jonathan Allan, who is leading the pitch process, said: “We’ve been incredibly impressed both by the number of pitches we received and by the high quality of the submissions, which has underlined the huge amount of creativity, innovation and talent right across the UK.
“However we have to move to a shortlist phase and, after careful consideration by the Channel 4 Executive team, we’ve selected 13 cities that are best able to meet our vision for our new hubs in the nations and regions.
"We look forward to visiting all those on the shortlist as part of our second phase, but we will also be continuing to work with all cities and regions as part of our strategy to increase investment and support creative businesses, jobs and growth across the UK.”
