Leeds’ Film, TV, and Di gital Media Sector – Baseline and Future Vision Final Report presented to Leeds City Council by Olsberg•SPI 11th January, 2013 2nd May, 2014 Leeds’ Film, TV, and Digital Media Sector – Baseline and Future Vision CONTENTS 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................ 1 1.1. Findings .............................................................................................................................. 1 1.2. Recommendations ............................................................................................................. 2 2. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................... 5 2.1. Objectives of the Study ...................................................................................................... 5 2.2. The Creative Sectors .......................................................................................................... 5 2.3. Leeds’ Creative Sector ........................................................................................................ 6 2.4. The UK Sector .................................................................................................................... 6 2.5. Other Cities ........................................................................................................................ 7 3. LEEDS’ CREATIVE SECTOR – DESCRIPTION ................................................................... 8 3.1. The UK Creative Sector ....................................................................................................... 8 3.2. Current Status Report ......................................................................................................... 9 3.3. Map of Leeds’ Creative Sector ........................................................................................... 12 3.4. Conclusions and Recommendations ................................................................................. 14 4. ECONOMIC IMPACT OF LEEDS’ CREATIVE SECTOR ..................................................... 16 5. ANALYSIS OF THE SECTOR’S NEEDS .......................................................................... 17 5.1. Mapping and Networking ................................................................................................. 17 5.2. Working Space ................................................................................................................. 18 5.3. Skills Development ........................................................................................................... 20 5.4. Recognition from the Council ........................................................................................... 21 5.5. Strategic Engagement ...................................................................................................... 22 6. FUTURE VISION ......................................................................................................... 23 6.1. Responding to Manchester ............................................................................................... 23 6.2. The Yorkshire Content Fund and Tax Credits .................................................................... 23 6.3. Creative Sector Working Space ........................................................................................ 24 6.4. Studio Space .................................................................................................................... 26 6.5. The Leeds Creative Community ........................................................................................ 26 6.6. The Leeds International Film Festival ............................................................................... 27 6.7. Local TV ........................................................................................................................... 27 7. THE NEED FOR A CREATIVE SECTOR LEAD IN LEEDS COUNCIL ................................... 28 7.1. Leeds City Council’s Current Offer .................................................................................... 28 7.2. The Needs of the Sector ................................................................................................... 28 7.3. Recommendations ............................................................................................................ 33 8. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................................. 35 8.1. Conclusions ...................................................................................................................... 35 8.2. Recommendations ........................................................................................................... 35 © Olsberg•SPI 2014 2nd May, 2014 ii Leeds’ Film, TV, and Digital Media Sector – Baseline and Future Vision 9. APPENDIX 1 – CONSULTATION LIST .............................................................................. I © Olsberg•SPI 2014 2nd May, 2014 iii Leeds’ Film, TV, and Digital Media Sector – Baseline and Future Vision 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1.1. Findings 1.1.1. A ViBrant and SizeaBle Creative Industry It is clear from the research and analysis undertaken by SPI that Leeds as a city has a vibrant, well-sized, and highly active creative sector of unusual diversity, which provides a solid basis upon which a future strategy can be developed. Starting from the handful of very large employers such as Sky and Emmerdale, which have significant economic importance, the city has a wide range of companies, many of which are on the micro level of less than 10 employees. This is common throughout the sector, but has not – at a national level – impeded the double-digit economic growth which the creative industries have recorded over the recessive period. All the available data point to Leeds as being a creative hub of national importance – Business Register and Employment Survey data analysed in 2011 show the city to have a larger sector than other key cities such as Birmingham and Glasgow. This is ratified by a recent IPPR report – March of the Modern Makers – which placed Leeds as one of the UK’s key creative centres. Both of these studies underline the city’s existing strength in the sector, though as we note elsewhere, this is something which is currently under significant threat due to perceived inertia. Overall, the creative sectors of interest – Film, TV, and Video Games – can be seen to generate a significant amount of income for the city, with our estimates suggesting a GVA of between £225-360 million, and in the region of 4,250-6,800 jobs. 1.1.2. Paucity of Clear Data That we are unable to provide an exact figure on this issue speaks to the lack of granularity within existing data sources – many of them focus on national-level databases, which do not provide sufficient detail to ‘zoom into’ the current status of the sector in a specific location. Many of the sources that exist are dated from the early 2010s, and given both the impact of the recession, and the double-digit growth which the UK creative industries have seen in the last few years, it is likely that the sector they describe is no longer the one which exists. As such, this lack of data presents a clear stumbling block for future development – from the Council’s point of view, it serves to inhibit the development of a clear, consistent baseline to measure future growth, while the professionals working in the sector also express exasperation at their inability to comprehend the exact shape of the Leeds creative sector, outside of their immediate circle of contacts. 1.1.3. Dispersal of the Creative Sector Another factor driving this difficulty is the highly dispersed nature of the Creative Sector in Leeds – the overall sector, including industries like advertising, comprises nearly 3,400 businesses, of which the vast majority are micro-sized. Though this is the normal way of operating in the creative sector, Leeds exhibits an unusual level of dispersal in the location of these businesses, which are scattered across the city rather than congregating in and around a central location, such as London’s Soho or Silicon Roundabout. The result of this is that networking – which is crucial in an industry where teams typically come together for the purpose of a single project – is inhibited, and the development of economies of scale through agglomeration is stymied. © Olsberg•SPI 2014 2nd May, 2014 1 Leeds’ Film, TV, and Digital Media Sector – Baseline and Future Vision A lack of creative co-working space was highlighted as a particular issue within this, and we note that the development of further co-working space would offer significant agglomeration benefits, which are central to the success of many hubs worldwide. This would also aid in the development of formative technologies – adapting ideas from one sector into another – in which Leeds traditionally excels, as well as in retaining the talent base Leeds presently develops. Nonetheless, we note that the city’s current creative sector success, in spite of a coherent core, underlines the inherent quality that the sector in Leeds offers, and leads to the belief that there is significant potential for future growth should a hub be developed. 1.1.4. Leeds as a Regional Production HuB This is particularly the case when we consider the fact that Leeds – along with Sheffield – is central to a broader Yorkshire creative sector. Screen Yorkshire’s Yorkshire Content