Manchester Update

Cultural industries and the regional economy

The government’s Creative Industry Task Force claims the cultural industries are “the future economic powerhouse of this country”. Manchester has the infrastructure to take advantage of this potential to create jobs and generate economic growth. T

his is the conclusion of a research team led by the Manchester Institute for Popular Culture (MIPC) at the Manchester Metropolitan University, commissioned by the City Council, Manchester TEC, the North West Arts Board and MIDAS. Investment in culture is creating the vibrant, cosmopolitan image that brings people to Manchester.

The City includes several cultural flagship buildings such as the Bridgewater Hall, City Art Gallery and Royal Exchange Theatre which are all integral to its development. Equally important is the production of culture – theatre, music, film/television, design, publishing and muiltimedia. T

hese are not only the key to an innovative and creative cultural sector, but act as a catalyst for innovation in other sectors Culture and the local economy Cultural industries account for 3.6 per cent of employment in the City Pride area. This represents over 10,000 jobs – only slightly less than the construction industry. There are a few large employers, but the majority (58 per cent) of employment is accounted for by small and micro enterprises and sole practitioners.

National research undertaken by Spectrum indicates a potential growth rate of between four and ten per cent per annum in these industries, representing between 2,000 and 5,000 additional jobs in the City Pride area over the next five years. It is in the small businesses sector that this potential growth is the highest.

Main sub sectors

Manchester is the largest regional centre for television and film production in the UK and film and media account for 20 per cent of cultural industries employment in the area. Granada and the BBC are the major employers but rely on a whole host of micro-enterprises which provide specialist services to the industry.

Design industries account for a quarter of the cultural enterprises in the city and is one of its fastest growing sectors.

Music provides Manchester with one of its strongest images as a vibrant, contemporary and cutting edge city and is a reference point for other sub-sectors such as fashion, graphic design and multimedia.

Other key sectors in the cultural economy are architecture, publishing and writing and performing arts.

The report also emphasises the importance of festivals and events in raising the profile of the City, animating the retail centre and attracting tourists. It is a field in which Manchester has a growing national reputation and strong record of visitor attraction.

The City’s cafes, bars and the urban environment itself compliment these activities, acting as informal galleries, venues and alternative retail outlets.

Areas such as Manchester’s Northern Quarter, Gay Village, Castlefield, Salford’s Chapel Street and Ashton in Tameside are focal points for creative businesses and events which bring life to the streets and public spaces across the city.

Creativity and sustainability

Cultural industries demand flexibility and multiple skills and yet many employees and sole practitioners enter the industry without formal qualifications. The industry is particularly attractive to young people and acts as a pathway to employment and education which, in turn, leads to the development of skills and confidence. Cultural projects can play a role in strategies to create access to employment, raise educational attainment and combat social exclusion.

Strategy for growth

The research suggests that the key to growth is support for existing and new small businesses, combined with targeted inward investment to fill strategic gaps. Markets for this growth will be provided both locally and globally and Manchester’s businesses have already demonstrated an ability to access these wider markets.

Although significant in employment terms, the sector is fragile and fragmented. Intervention needs to be carried out on a new ‘bottom up’ basis which is responsive and linked to industry networks.

This approach could provide a model for other sectors such as the retail and service industries. Pilot programme The City Pride Partnership has secured £1.5 million of European Regional Development Funding (ERDF) which will enable a pilot programme to be put in place to stimulate employment and economic expansion in the cultural industries.

The programme will be spearheaded by a new cultural industries development service and will target business support to the sector, assist development in key sub-sectors and address key issues such as networking, market development and multimedia access.

The four local authorities in City Pride: Manchester, Salford, Tameside and Trafford; Manchester TEC; MIDAS and the North West Arts Board are working with the education and cultural industries sector.

Ten years ago there were four residential schemes in the city centre: council flats at Smithfield, housing association units at Cromford Court on the top of the Arndale Centre, Wimpey’s St John’s Gardens scheme and BP Construction’s conversion of Granby House, making a total of 363 housing units.

By the middle of 1998 there were 40 housing developments with 2,100 units excluding student accommodation. A further 550 units were under construction with over 400 more planned. Most schemes so far have been around the edges of the City Centre – the majority are still in a curve round the southern edge from Whitworth Street and The Village through to Castlefield.

More recently, development of the Smithfields Building by Urban Splash and a number of small schemes by Hodari have given the Northern Quarter considerable impetus, set to continue with proposals by Crosby Homes and Riverside Housing Association for the former Smithfield Market site and Town Centre Securities’ plans for Piccadilly Basin. Even the central financial area is no longer out of bounds with Shenton Estates’ plans for 16 apartments on Clarence Street.

The City Centre is now home to an estimated 6,500 people, including students, and could rise as high as 10,000 within a decade if the demand continues. So far it shows no sign of dissipating with potential buyers queuing to snap up new flats as soon as they are released.

Baltic’s £10 million conversion of the Grand Hotel on Aytoun Street saw home hunters waiting outside for two days with half of the 110 apartments sold on the first day of release. Urban Splash’s conversion of the 11,000 sq m Britannia Mills on Ellesmere Street in Castlefield attracted another queue, selling 23 of the 33 released in the first phase on the first day. The demand was mirrored when they released phases at their successful Smithfield Buildings scheme in the Northern Quarter.

Over half the completed units and some 62 per cent of those under construction are conversions of existing buildings, taking up over 100,000 sq m of former commercial space in warehouses and offices. It has proved an effective use for secondary commercial buildings, many of which have proved hard to let. Property analysts say there is no reason to fear the explosion will stop.

According to John Adams, partner with surveyor and planning consultant Drivers Jonas, residential development in the City Centre is entirely market driven. “In other parts of the country councils had to push quite hard to get housing started,” he says, “but not in Manchester. And I don’t think we are anywhere near the threshold yet for housing in the city centre”.

Rob Robinson, head of residential land at GVA Grimley also predicts that the scene will continue to grow. He believes that as the supply of completely vacant property begins to dry up, developers will start to acquire buildings with existing tenants.

With capital values of pre-war and 1960s offices in parts of the city centre based on rents down to £54 per sq m, residential schemes at nearly £2,000 per sq m are clearly an attractive option