Mayor Andy Street turns up heat in bid to lure Channel 4 to the West Midlands

The region's Mayor is calling for a full relocation, which would see Channel 4 move its main headquarters out of London to the provinces.

Today Mr Street has thrown down the gauntlet to creative communities in the West Midlands, urging them to show that the region 'is in the leading pack' in terms of attracting the broadcaster.

It comes as the stand off between the Government – which has ordered Channel 4 to move –and the broadcaster, which wants to stay in London, intensified.

Mr Street said: “Now is absolutely the moment that we’ve got to put forward our case, to ensure Channel 4 makes the very best offer to Government.”

Four areas in the region have been put forward as potential homes for the channel by the West Midlands Combined Authority: Dudley, Birmingham, Solihull and Coventry.

The Express & Star understands that a last ditch case put forward for Wolverhampton by city MP Eleanor Smith has failed to gain any traction.

Former Culture Secretary Karen Bradley said last year that the Government would use legislation to force Channel 4 to move, if it refused to do so voluntarily.

She was replaced by Matt Hancock in Theresa May’s reshuffle this week, and it remains to be seen whether the new Culture Secretary will adopt the same approach.

Several other parts of the country have also submitted bids for the channel, including Liverpool and Salford.

Mr Street said bringing Channel 4 to the region would generate £2.3 billion of gross value added (GVA) between 2021 and 2030.

It would also create £2.7 billion of indirect GVA during the same period, by catalysing wider growth and clustering across the region’s creative and tech sectors, he said.

The Mayor added: “But there’s more to it than just money – the West Midlands is the only natural home for an organisation that rightly wants to represent modern Britain.

“Basing Channel 4 in the West Midlands would enable the station to reflect the lives and opinions of a young and diverse population more effectively than from any other location. Crucially, it would stimulate more people from diverse backgrounds to take part in the creative sectors.

“This is a region with a great economic story to tell. Our digital and creative industries are waiting to work with Channel 4 and the arrival of HS2 will strengthen our already unrivalled connectivity.

“I believe a decision will be made very soon indeed by the Channel 4 and therefore it is essential that we strike now.

“We’ve proven we can do large scale relocations well, as demonstrated by HSBC’s new HQ, the expansion of PwC and the HS2 construction headquarters, in addition to recent BBC investments in the region.

“For my part I will continue to champion our region with Channel 4 and Government, we need the whole region to get behind this campaign.

“In particular, it is important our creative and tech businesses make their voices heard in the capital.

“In the weeks to come, we will be looking to step up this momentum and take the message to Channel 4 that the West Midlands is the only choice for the station’s new home.”