Home » UK Business News • UK Employment news » Birmingham’s Digbeth Loc. Studios launches and could create 760 jobs

Birmingham’s Digbeth Loc. Studios launches and could create 760 jobs

By Nagasunder in UK Business News, posted March 23, 2023

A new film and television production studio called Digbeth Loc. Studios in Birmingham could create as many as 760 jobs.

Work has started on The Digbeth Loc project, spearheaded by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight.

The site's construction is planned to be completed in July, ready for occupation, with the first filming beginning in October.

Mr. Knight is collaborating with Piers Read, CEO of cultural property regeneration company Time + Space, to create a long-term cultural legacy for his hometown by bringing businesses to the multimedia headquarters.

The unused Victorian-era buildings will be turned into a modern complex encompassing three film studios, production offices, and construction workshops totaling 80,000 square feet.

The team has been working on the project for years, but this is the first physical process, which was first proposed for a site near the NEC in Solihull.

It came after a £1.3 million investment by Birmingham City Council, landowner Homes England, and the West Midlands Combined Authority.

The studios are at 122 Fazeley Street in the Warwick Bar Conservation Area next to the canal and are expected to contribute more than £30 million to the local economy.

Productions already committed to the site include the BBC drama This Town, which is based on the region's ska and two-tone legacy.

The hugely popular MasterChef will be located in the historic 'Banana Warehouse' at the same location after redevelopment plans were submitted last year.

The iconic Birmingham reggae band UB40 is also likely to take up residence in one of the new studios.

Mr. Knight said: "It's so exciting that this day has come and after a lot of hard work by lots of people at Homes England, Birmingham City Council and the West Midlands Combined Authority.

"Our plans are ambitious and we will be making TV and movies on an international scale.

Need Career Advice? Get employment skills advice at all levels of your career

"We are planting an industry in the fertile soil of Birmingham and we need local people to make it happen. We have structures in place to begin the business of training local people in the skills needed and we want people to know that this is a viable industry that is here to stay.

"We're setting up in the heart of, what was once, Peaky Blinders country and it's very fitting that we are bringing it all back home."

Source: Business Live

Follow us on YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook