Sharp Project contributed £21m in first year
MANCHESTER City Council has revised up the economic impact of the Sharp Project media centre in east Manchester.
The facility, at a converted Sharp Electronics warehouse in Newton Heath, has office space for start-ups and more established creative businesses, as well as 50,000 sq ft of drama production stages and a recording studio.
A report for the council’s economy scrutiny committee, which meets today, said the centre has created 375 full-time equivalent jobs in its first full year of 2012-13, up from an original figure of 287.
Of these 205 are tenants and 170 are involved in production at the various stages which have been used for the likes of Channel 4’s Fresh Meat. Together these jobs have contributed £21.4m to the city’s economy, according to the council. Occupancy stands at 79.5%.
The Sharp Project was formally launched in 2011 following a £16.5m investment by the city council, the North West Development Agency and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
The council wants to commit a further £4.1m, along with the same amount from the ERDF, to convert a former Fujitsu building in West Gorton into an extension of the Sharp Project. It would be a dedicated “drama hub” which the council anticipates could create a further 475 jobs.
