- West Yorkshire Combined Authority one of six regions to
receive £25 million to grow their creative industries
- Comes as £8 million in grants go to more than 100 small and
medium-sized creative businesses across 12 UK regions including
West Yorkshire
- Funding to unlock growth as part of the Government's Plan for
Change
Creative businesses and freelancers in West Yorkshire are in line
for major government support to help them innovate, up-skill and
attract private investment.
The West Yorkshire Combined Authority is one of six UK regions
with strengths in creative industries to have been awarded £25
million as part of the Government's Creative Places Growth Fund.
This funding will grow the already booming creative industries of
West Yorkshire - including film and TV, music, video games,
fashion, textiles and createch. It is home to Wakefield's
Production Park, a technologically pioneering studio, and Game
Republic Ltd, who operate two leading games networks across the
North of England.
The fund was announced in the Creative Industries Sector Plan in
June, as part of the Industrial Strategy, where the Government
shared their intention to invest £150 million in the creative
industries of six regions outside of London - Greater Manchester,
Liverpool City Region, North East, West of England, West Midlands
and West Yorkshire.
Culture Secretary has today revealed that the fund
will be split equally across these regions to drive growth,
innovation and investment. The fund will empower local mayors to
support creative professionals, businesses and young people in
their communities with access to finance, mentoring and
networking opportunities to help them connect with investors and
skills programmes.
, Culture Secretary,
said:
“Creativity has no postcode - whether it's a musician in Leeds, a
filmmaker in Bradford, or a video games developer in
Huddersfield.
“We know that it is not one size fits all. That's why we are
committed to growing our creative industries in every corner of
the nation as part of our Creative Industries Sector Plan, and
hope that this devolved funding will be just what these regions
need to make their creative industries the best that they can
be.”
, Mayor of West Yorkshire,
said:
“For too long, our creative industries have been
disproportionately concentrated in London and the South East,
fuelled by talent from the rest of the country.
“Now, this government is working with mayors to reset the dial,
giving creatives across the country a fair chance to flourish,
without them needing to leave to achieve.
“I'm proud of West Yorkshire for leading the way to this landmark
investment, from our multimillion-pound You Can Make It Here
programme offering a vital leg-up to freelancers, to our screen
and script diversity programme bringing fresh and
underrepresented talent into the sector.
“By harnessing this new funding collectively as One Creative
North, we will continue to retain, grow and champion the talent
that is all around us, building a brighter Britain that works for
all.”
This is a new approach to supporting creative industries by
devolving funding to high-growth potential Mayoral Strategic
Authorities (MSAs). The £25 million allocations will be awarded
to the six MSAs over three years, starting in the 2026 financial
year, for them to distribute according to local barriers and
opportunities.
This is part of a whole range of support announced in the
Creative Industries Sector Plan supporting creative growth across
the whole of the UK, including providing business support for
local creative businesses, regional skills initiatives,
innovation capacity building programmes, or by providing sector
specific support such as TV and film production funds.
Separately, today the Government is announcing that more than 100
micro, small, and medium-sized creative enterprises across twelve
regions, including in West Yorkshire, are receiving a share of £8
million in grants through the Create Growth Programme.
The grants, ranging from £20,000 to £140,000, are aimed at
helping these high-growth businesses commercialise their ideas
and access resources, knowledge and private investment to scale
up - turning today's growing businesses into tomorrow's success
stories.
Grants will help firms like Translating Nature, an art
and design studio in Margate, and King Bee, a creative
animation studio in Hertfordshire, to develop innovative new
products, attract private investment and access one-to-one
mentoring with industry experts.
The businesses in sectors such as gaming, music and marketing are
based in Greater Manchester; Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire;
North East of England; West of England; Devon and Cornwall; South
East; Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Greater Lincolnshire;
Nottingham and Nottinghamshire; Hull and East Yorkshire; West
Midlands; West Yorkshire; and Hertfordshire.
