East Midlands creative sector needs ‘better understanding’, says report
Northampton has been identified as a leading cluster for the creative industries – but it is the only town or city in the East Midlands out of 47 in the UK, according to a new report.
London dominates, with 40% of the UK’s creative industry workers, and employing more people than the next 21 clusters on the list. The capital city’s creative GVA – a measure of productivity for the sector – was £41.8bn while the rest of the UK’s clusters totalled £33.7bn.
The research by Nesta and Creative England defined a cluster as a location which is in the UK top 10 in its concentration of business or employment in relevant creative sub-sectors, or that has experienced rapid growth in its levels of creative business or employment concentration.
The report found the creative workforce in these clusters has grown by 28% in the last seven years. Northampton has 1,240 creative businesses, says the report, which employ 4,391 people.
Juan Mateos-Garcia, head of innovation mapping at Nesta, said: “The UK’s geography of creativity is diverse and growing. London and other creative cities are very important, but so are other areas which are sometimes overlooked when we talk about creative clusters. A better understanding of their specialism and impact on the local economy will help ensure that these hotspots continue to gain access to the talent and knowledge they need to thrive.”
Kathy McArdle
Nottingham, which has its very own dedicated Creative Quarter, fails to appear in the report. However, says one prominent local figure, the sector in the region is on the rise.
Kathy McArdle, who heads up the Creative Quarter, said: “Creative industry employment has been growing rapidly in a number of regions around the country, including the East Midlands, where it’s increased by 52.5%. It’s interesting to compare this with London, which accounts for 30.8% of creative industry employment in the UK, but grew by only 15.6%. It certainly seems as if the trend in creative industry employment growth lies in the regions, with the East Midlands clearly leading the way.
“Here in Nottingham, The Creative Quarter is at the heart of the city’s creative and digital industries and the growth of the sector in the city and beyond. The initiative has invested over £5.25m directly into creative and digital SMEs which, alongside a high-quality business support offer, has helped them to grow significantly.
“Our videogames sector is nationally significant and our mapping has also identified an exciting emerging screen industries and moving image/digital content cluster.”
McArdle says her experience bears out the findings of the Nesta report, in that SMEs need a supportive environment in which to grow, create jobs and reach their full market potential.
She added: “The Creative Quarter initiative in Nottingham is the hub of the city’s creative and digital industries cluster, and The Creative Quarter company works with a host of other agencies and actors to provide a great enterprise and innovation ecosystem to ensure that the sector here continues to thrive.
“We look forward to reading the full Nesta report and working with other clusters around the country and in the East Midlands region to share knowledge and continue to grow this exciting sector nationally.”
