New office to attract film-makers to West Midlands

Richard Parker was elected as the Labour mayor of the West Midlands in May

The mayor of the West Midlands has said he wants to attract more film and television productions to the region by creating a new unit at the West Midlands Combined Authority.

Richard Parker said: "This region lacks a production office or unit that can help not just directors and others that want to invest in the industry here, but understand this region, find locations, and secure road closures."

He said the new office could be set up by the end of the year.

Parker also said he had the backing of Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight.

Knight, who is establishing a film and television centre in the Digbeth area of Birmingham, said he wanted Hollywood franchises to choose Birmingham as a location and said the city's "beautiful" Victorian buildings looked like ready-made film sets.

His Digbeth Loc studios will be the production base for a Peaky Blinders movie, which he said would start filming in the next 10 days.

Knight also said he hoped to create up to 760 new jobs in the film industry in the city.

Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight approves of the mayor's plans

The Birmingham-born producer joined Parker on Tuesday as they both set out their vision for boosting the region.

Knight said: "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."

He said he believed film producers would see the locations as "gold dust".

He added: “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."

Mr Parker said the new office at the combined authority could be set up by the end of the year.