The boss of MediaCity has said he is confident of more announcements like the recent news that will see even more BBC employees make the move to Salford – and that he believes its best moment is still to come.
Stephen Wild, managing director of the 200-acre, mixed-use property development, spoke to BusinessLive after the organisation’s major rebrand – a move that marked the 10th anniversary of its first broadcast.
Despite MediaCity’s numerous successes over the decade, spanning from when the Queen officially opened the BBC’s new Greater Manchester base, to the corporation announcing this year that even more employees will be based there , Mr Wild said it would be too difficult to highlight the best moment of its story so far.
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Mr Wild, who has been MD since MediaCity’s outset, said: “There are so many moments from the biggest to the smallest, all of which are hugely important in their own right.
“So I’m not certain it’s had its best yet. There’s so much scope, so much scale – and it may not be in Stephen Wild’s time, it may be beyond that.
“The growth and what’s to come and what it can deliver is multiple times of what it’s done today.”
Earlier this year, the BBC announced that the organisation’s Radio 3 leadership team will move to Greater Manchester, along with “most” of 6 Music’s staff, as part of efforts to become “more reflective of the UK as a whole”.
Mr Wild said he was “absolutely hopeful” of more announcements like that – and said he was confident they will come.
“We’ve got to look at the whole piece – place, talent, infrastructure, reputation.
“So yes, I’m hopeful that we’re going to see more organisations take advantage of the flexibility that the scheme offers.
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“Am I confident that we’re going to see more activity, whether it’s from the BBC or from other entities? Yes, because the underlying credentials and the access to talent aligns exactly with all the conversations we would have with all those people about what is it that their business needs.
“It’s all about listening to what they need and how their businesses are evolving.
“Yes, Covid has impacted on it, but there’s a lot of changes which are underway.
“In any event, the environmental and social credentials are here – we have the largest cluster of net zero buildings – so we need to listen to our customers and understand what it is that they want.
“So with all of those ingredients, of course we remain hopeful that there’s going to be continued expansion – hence why we will be looking at further buildings, further workspace and film studio spaces.”
Opened in 2011 by Peel, MediaCity is, for many, synonymous with the BBC – and the corporation’s pledge to be more in touch with the regions.
But Mr Wild has always been keen to point out it is about much more than that – and neatly described the complex as “the home of content, innovation and technology”.
MediaCity (Image: BBC)He said: “Yes, the BBC are there. Yes, ITV are there. Yes, dock10 has the UK’s largest studio facility.
“But also it’s about innovation and the creation of content, and how that is aligned in there.”
There are around 300 SMEs based at MediaCity, and Mr Wild said recent innovations and accelerators have focused around the future of health, connecting places and cybersecurity – much of which has been in partnership with education institutions like the University of Salford and Salford City College.
MediaCity’s SME community is currently at the forefront of delivering the latest in high tech from AI to esports and gaming and cybersecurity – and Mr Wild said he is looking ahead to how it can support the fourth revolution.
“We’re certainly not moving away from broadcast or content, I’d say we are strengthening our connection with it, but in a very innovative way.”
Having been at the helm of the organisation since its inception, Mr Wild said it would be “difficult to not be proud of what MediaCity has become”.
He added: “From the opportunities that it’s delivered for the local community, what it’s done in a regional context in terms of being the home of more high end content than anywhere else in the UK, and the impact and the accessibility it’s given to local communities, places and space – you’d struggle not to be proud of what it’s delivered.
“I think the important thing isn’t what we’ve done. MediaCity is effectively the sum of all its parts and everybody – ranging from the SMEs through to the big broadcasters.
“Yes, the talent and engineering, but everybody – so many people working here who make the place operate, and the number of people who come out and the personal stories that come out of it.
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“There are some brilliant stories – how it’s helped people, how people’s careers have grown, how people love living there and visiting there.
“So of course we’re proud – but we’re proud of it in its totality.”
The latest phase in the MediaCity story began last month, when it launched a major rebrand, dropping the ‘UK’ from its name.
Its entire brand identity has been reworked – aiming to “reflect and celebrate the people and the destination’s sense of place and purpose which has evolved over the past 10 years”.
Since revealing its vision to double in size in 2016, nearly 1,000 new homes have been built – with local independents including The General Store, Chapati Café and Seven Bro7hers having moved in.
The Co-op is set to launch its new concept store in November.
There are also exciting plans in the pipeline, with MediaCity looking forward to delivering new workspace, studio and public spaces. That’s as well as launching into new spheres such as immersive entertainment and pop-ups, and Mr Wild pointed to the I’m A Celebrity Jungle Challenge and Box on the Docks initiatives as early examples.
He said: “We’ve learned quite a lot through the last 18 months about making sure that we’re very close to our community, and that our environmental and social initiatives are very strong.”
BBC central plaza . MediaCityUK GVs, SalfordIn terms of the UK’s levelling up agenda, Mr Wild said there had been progress around Salford and Greater Manchester – not least in the success of MediaCity.
But there is still work to be done.
“We are still very close to significantly deprived neighbourhoods.
“There’s been a massive movement in terms of that people can now stay in Salford and in the Greater Manchester cluster for a life and career, not just a job.
“So there is that momentum, and we’re seeing some significant moves.
“But you can’t stop. We need to continue and we need investment in infrastructure, investment in our people, in our talent and our skills.
“There is huge untapped opportunity in this area, where actually in the UK PLC, if we can tap into the opportunity we’ve got, it will automatically drive levelling up and it will automatically drive opportunity for the UK as well.”
He added: “Levelling up is achievable, however, there is not just a single solution. it will require continued enthusiasm, focus and investment, which is a long-term investment as well.
“So it can’t just be rhetoric. And it’s got to lead from the health and wellbeing of our communities through to the skills and talent, through to ensuring that the infrastructure is there.”
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