Mayor unveils bold plans with Peaky Blinders creator

Mayor of the West Midlands, Richard Parker has revealed plans to create a joint production office with Peaky Blinders creator Stephen Knight.

Knight is set to open a Los Angeles to attract Hollywood productions and show them how Birmingham is the place to produce in. He believes US film producers would see the locations as “gold dust”.

“We’re now at the stage where we have made incredible progress to take a beautiful place like this – the beautiful Victorian architecture, the warehouses that are here, the canal system – and do with it something no other industry can do with it,” said Knight.

His Digbeth Loc Studios will be used to develop the Peaky Blinders film, which will start shooting in the next 10 days. 

Knight is working alongside Parker to drive a welcoming film and TV industry to Digbeth, with plans for a hotel for cast and production, as well as reinvigorating the canal network for entertainment and catering. 

He said: “What we want to do is plant a new industry here and not plant it like a spaceship and put barbed wire around it. We want this to be part of the community.”

The announcement formed part of Parker’s commitment to the West Midlands, as he outlined the four priorities he’ll deliver “for everyone”.

A dedicated taskforce made up of a council of experts to drive jobs, homes, growth and journeys will be created to ensure each of the areas is driven by specialist input to ensure delivery.

His work with Knight will contribute to the jobs he wants to create, in a region that has twice the national average of young people out of work, with some areas experiencing even worse unemployment rates.

Parker’s regional growth route map will focus on manufacturing, digital technology, creative industries, and green technology, aiming to attract significant investment and create jobs. 

More than 30,000 jobs and £5.5bn of private investment are expected to be created through the West Midlands Investment Zone. Parker said it was his responsibility to ensure those jobs can go to people in this region, particularly young people. 

He said: “Too many are young people with the poorest background, have been overlooked and left behind for too long”. 

A new programme for affordable social housing is being developed to provide a better start in life for families and children.

Parker said he had already written to Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner asking for the freedom to use around £150m worth of housing resources that are stranded in the Combined Authority that can’t currently be used for housing purposes. 

“I want the freedom and the flexibility to redefine those resources to deliver what will be the biggest and most ambitious program of social affordable housing in this region for 40 years in terms of growth”.

The first stage of taking buses back into public control is in now place, with plans to implement a franchising system similar to Manchester’s.

Talking about the new taskforces that will drive forward the priorities, the Mayor said: “I’m absolutely clear that we must be laser focused on delivering to show the value that devolution has on everyone’s lives. Each of the four areas will have a dedicated Taskforce which will be made up of a council of experts. People from across sectors who are experts in their fields and have a proven track record of delivery.”