Hoping 4 a successful bid
Local Democracy Reporter NEWCASTLE and Gateshead will find out next week if they have made the shortlist to be the home of Channel 4’s new headquarters.
More details have now been revealed about the bid to bring the broadcaster to the North East, including two key locations identified for the potential development.
The Tyneside bid, led by Newcastle Gateshead Initiative on behalf of both councils, faces heavy competition from the likes of Birmingham, Sheffield, Liverpool and Glasgow.
And Channel 4 is set to announce next week which cities have made the shortlist to house either its new headquarters or two smaller regional hubs, ahead of a final decision later in the year.
Newcastle and Gateshead’s joint bid has now been formally submitted and leaders hope that the region’s strengths in the digital and creative sectors will give them the edge. Two sites have been identified as possible locations for a Channel 4 base – the Gateshead Quays and the Newcastle Helix development, formerly known as Science Central – which council bosses say could ‘transform how Channel 4 operates.’
Gateshead Council Deputy Leader, Coun Catherine Donovan, said: “Channel 4’s National HQ could become a Centre of Excellence in data-informed and innovation based broadcasting, a challenger to the norm in revolutionising TV broadcasting.
“As a region we have the fastest growing digital and tech sector in the UK outside of London with fantastic assets on either side of the Tyne.
“In Gateshead we have PROTO: The Emerging Technology Centre, a soon-to-be launched research and development facility for digital innovation and Newcastle is home to the National Innovation Centre for Data.
“With this in mind two potential sites were highlighted, Newcastle Helix and Gateshead Quays.
“Both fantastic locations that could transform how Channel 4 operates commission content, and both potentially sites where they could also be based.
“With excellent connectivity they are perfectly primed to host Channel 4’s new national HQ.”
Newcastle Council Leader, Coun Nick Forbes, added: “Creativity and innovation are joint strengths which unite Tyneside and Channel 4.
“Newcastle Gateshead has become the unofficial capital of culture in the UK, and Channel 4 demonstrates what can happen when art in all its forms is used to challenge and push forward a nation.
“After showing the world how cultural-led regeneration can transform a place physically, Newcastle Gateshead is now ready to repeat that success with a digital economy which places Tyneside at the very heart of modern Britain.
“The people here already design and dream big, crafting and coding in a way which opens up new possibilities, a strength recognised when the decision was taken to locate the National Innovation Centre for Data here.
“These cutting-edge technological assets are a key part of our offer as we look to welcome Channel 4 and start a new era in our shared story of cultural growth.”
Also outlined in the bid is access to local talent from the region’s five universities, 20 colleges and specialist Technical Colleges.
Other cities in the running include Leeds, Cardiff, Manchester and Bristol.