Birmingham will become a significant centre for premier television and film production following a landmark investment to establish ‘Digbeth Loc. Studios’.

The new, high-profile studios are the brainchild of acclaimed British screenwriter, director and producer, Steven Knight. His vision, alongside business partner, TIME+SPACE CEO Piers Read, is to create a long-term cultural legacy for his home city by welcoming major blue-chip brands to the multimedia headquarters.

The £1.3m investment by Birmingham City Council, together with landowner Homes England and with support from the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), aims to mobilise the region’s £4bn Creative Economy, offering a flagship focal point to draw and inspire both local and international screen-industries talent. It is anticipated the studios will contribute more than £30m to the local economy, creating 760 local jobs.

Digbeth Loc. Studios is envisioned to play a catalytic role in the wider, regeneration-led reimagining of Digbeth. A range of public and private partners will spend the next 12 months exploring how the area’s disused brownfield land could be transformed into a major economic and cultural centre.

With the launch of the BBC’s new broadcast centre at the Tea Factory, Masterchef and film studios at Warwick Bar, Hs2 Curzon Street station and Metro coming direct to the heart of Digbeth, and 10,000 new homes already planned – the next 20 years will see a new era for Digbeth and the communities of Bordesley and beyond.

Over the last 30 years, Digbeth has evolved moving steadily from heavy industry to a place of start-up businesses based around design, music, tech, gaming, broadcast production and innovation – a rich and diverse mix of small independent and larger companies. the heritage and character of the buildings, streets, railway arches and canals, are supplemented by dramatic street art, and a range of bars, clubs and live music that makes 21st century Digbeth a melting pot of people and energy.