Ministers and civil servants have Stoke-on-Trent in their sights as the area’s creative sector presses its case to be recognised as one of six new formal creative clusters.
Stoke-on-Trent Central MP Gareth Snell argued for the move after securing parliamentary time to debate the fast-growing, successful creative sector in the city.
Next year will see:
- A plan to grow the creative industries by £50 billion and support a million more jobs by 2030, with £77 million of new funding for the sector announced.
- Advanced screen and performance technology research labs to be based in Yorkshire, Dundee, Belfast and Buckinghamshire.
- £50 million to support more regional creative clusters, plus extra cash for music venues, video games studios, London Fashion Week and the next generation of British music talent.
- Plans to build a pipeline of skills and talent through new creative careers promise.
As well as giving an entertaining A-Z tour of the city, Gareth asked the Minister of State for Science, Innovation and Technology Chris Bryant to prioritise Stoke-on-Trent’s case.
He said: “First, will he visit and meet some of the organisations, so that he can see first hand the excellent work that we are doing not only in pursuit of our own economic development, but in pursuit of the Government’s own agenda to ensure that creative industries and culture are available to all?
“Will he consider recognising North Staffordshire as a cultural cluster—something that the last Government were not able to do, but which would give us the standing we need to demonstrate that we are here for the long run?”
Chris Bryant told the Westminster Hall debate: “My hon. Friend makes a very good case. We are looking at what we need to do about creative clusters in the next round of announcements next year, so he has made a good bid and my officials are listening very attentively.”
Michael Lee, Chief Strategy Officer of global agency VCCP and founder of the company’s Stoke Academy, said: “We have been creating an informal cluster over the past three years. This has led to cross-business collaboration that has generated significant gains in visibility, recruitment and commercial impact.
“Stoke is not renowned for its creative industries beyond ceramics, but there is now a real momentum behind all businesses.
“The other area of collaboration has been with universities and schools. The University of Staffordshire in particular is a real strength to the city in the world of digital skills (AI, virtual production) that will power the creative and technology industries over the next decade.
“It is giving us a genuine opportunity to develop a real ‘centre of excellence’ reputation for Stoke-on-Trent, that will drive a major regeneration of the city’s economy built around high-wage, high-skill jobs that enable us to retain talent in the city
“Achieving official recognition for the creative industries cluster effectively adds fuel to an existing fire. It accelerates our ability to progress and generate economic benefits that leads to more jobs, attracts more companies, and transforms the reputation of Stoke as a place that will attract more and more companies to the region.”
Records in Hansard show Gareth made reference to founding businesses in North Staffordshire’s active and influential creative cluster, including VCCP, i-creation, Lesniak Swann, Carse and Waterman and Popcorn Learning.
He told MPs of the summer internship programme launched by cluster members which give young people a powerful insights into work in the creative sector through paid placements in leading agencies.
And Gareth also name-checked cultural riches like Claybody Theatre, Appetite, B-Arts, the Spode creative village, Duchess China, We are Stoke, Restoke, the New Vic Theatre and many more.
He said: “Stoke-on-Trent was and is the crucible of creativity. We were at the forefront of the last industrial revolution, and we are now quietly and diligently leading our very own creative renaissance in the city and the surrounding area.
“The last measurement suggested that growth in our creative industries stood at about 6.3 per cent, which is in no small part down to the determination of a number of organisations.
“Will the Minister speak to his colleagues at the Department for Business and Trade to ensure that any industrial strategy that comes forward to encourage growth in the UK looks seriously at creative industries?
“The creative industries in Stoke-on-Trent are where our growth can come from. That is where we can make a difference to all the organisations that are currently looking to take the next step to becoming vibrant, big, national groups.”
Hansard’s record of the debate can be found here.
