Despite the BBC’s recent announcement about cutting back its ventures, the future is looking bright for the North of England’s relationship with the corporation.

MediaCityUK is located at the old docklands in Salford Quays. Image courtesy of Peel Media

The huge media development site in Salford Quays, Manchester, is getting ready to welcome five of BBC’s departments in 2011 – Radio 5Live, Children’s, Sport, Learning, and Future Media & Technology.

Designed specifically around the media industry, the development site is currently under construction and already has a buzzing feel to it. The overall site will extend over 200 acres and will accommodate a vast number of creative and digital businesses alongside the BBC, University of Salford and regional screen agency Northwest Vision and Media.

The move will mean a significant job boost for the Northern region as the BBC’s London-based employees are reluctant to move up North. According to The Guardian, almost 60% of the company’s middle managers have refused to relocate. In total, 42% of the staff have agreed to move.

Together as one Northern region?

It is thought the new creative hub, named MediaCityUK, will invigorate the industry in the North but the move has also raised some concerns. The Journal reported earlier this month that city leaders in the North East fear the region might lose out if a pan-regional approach is widely adapted – creating one northern region.

Screen agency Northern Film & Media’s chief executive, Tom Harvey, has also expressed fears that a number of broadcasting professionals could in the future be ‘lured’ from the North East to Manchester.

Mark Thompson, BBC director general, answered the concerns by emphasising that MediaCityUK is only one part of the project aiming to engage people from across the whole of the North of England. He added that there were no intentions to undermine television production in the North East.

He said: “We want to go on building network production in the North East and commissioning more network programmes.”

The Northern Way initiative, launched in 2004 in collaboration with regional development agencies, has been working towards promoting the North as an exceptional region and a considerable challenger to the South.

Hugh Morgan WIlliams, chair of The Northern Way, said in The Journal that the North East will benefit from the collaboration as long as it’s entered in our own terms.

He said: “I’m not in favour of a pan-Northern approach, I think that could be dangerous, but we have to recognise the benefits of working together.”

@North initiative leading the way

As part of its ‘out of London’ campaign, the BBC has commissioned an initiative to engage creative people across the North of England.

Launched in November last year, @North is aiming to uncover the next big interactive content for children. A budget of £500,000 is up for grabs for up to four projects to be commissioned by CBBC and CBeebies.

Whether it’s in the form of web content, mobile content, gaming or applications, the aim is to “find the kind of creativity that sets standards for children’s content in the future”, a BBC statement read.

Peter Salmon, the director of BBC North, described @North at its launch event in the region as “the first tangible tranche of cash going into key developments” which will allow Northern England to work with CBBC – a key part of the corporation.

He said: “This shows the kind of plans and potential that we want to bring to the North and we might be able to deliver in the region.”

The initiative is engineered in close collaboration with the Northern regional screen agencies – North West Vision and Media, Northern Film and Media and Screen Yorkshire. It is hoped that @North will establish good practice that will set the basis for the BBC’s future collaboration with companies in the North.

Applications for the project have already been submitted and, during the spring, the ideas are to be developed and commissioning briefs drawn up. Pitching will take place from July to September.

In the ideas put forward in these coming months, the North has an opportunity to demonstrate its true worth to the BBC.