The national body replacing Screen WM has moved to smooth a threatened east-west divide over support for film and digital firms following an attack launched from the East Midlands.

The chairman of Creative England, which will have regional branches in Birmingham, Manchester and Bristol, has responded to concerns within the film sector that support would be “skewed” towards the west of the country, including from East Midland screen agency EM Media.

Creative England will replace screen agencies like Screen WM and EM Media, which invest public money in supporting film production and digital firms outside London.

The body is now set to recruit staff for the three hubs ahead of its opening in October.

But Birmingham-based Screen WM’s chief executive Suzie Norton has ruled herself out of the process, saying she would not be seeking a role in the new national structure.

Ms Norton is stepping down after three-and-a-half years and Screen WM is now being driven by its senior management team, which will remain in place at the agency during the transition to Creative England.

The process of setting up Creative England has become politicised after a consultation attracted criticism for the decision to site the hubs in cities in the west of the country.

The East Midland agency EM Media, which has coinvested in films like Control and This Is England, accused Creative England of a “glaring omission” in its choice of Birmingham, Bristol and Manchester as hubs for the new body.

It wrote: “Creative England has created an unhelpful and unnecessary east-west divide which if allowed to continue, will have a damaging effect on wider territory relationships.

“We recommend in the strongest terms that Creative England rethinks this decision as a matter of urgency, to promote a fairer treatment and regard for the country as a whole and in order to become a more credible representative of the sector, England-wide.”

It added that EM Media had achieved more feature film investment successes than the screen agencies based in Manchester, Birmingham and Bristol put together.

Creative England chairman John Newbigin said the decision to locate hub offices in Birmingham, Bristol and Manchester was taken last year by regional screen agency representatives together.

He added: “While it obviously makes sense to locate the hubs in cities that are already major creative centres, we have an England-wide remit and must fulfil it.

“That is why we intend to work by forming alliances and partnerships that can give us the necessary reach across the full geographic and talent spread of England, with staff answerable to boards of non-executive directors who also represent the full geographic spread of the country.”

He also stressed that Creative England would not have a narrow focus on film alone.

“Creative England’s remit is to support independent creative businesses, concentrating on the digital content industries, including film, and the talent that drives them,” he said.

“We have focused on film in the first instance because Creative England will receive circa £2.5 million grant in aid and circa £2 million Lottery funding for film from the BFI, and this core support will be used to leverage additional funds from public and private sources.”

In the West Midlands the process of winding down Screen WM has been under way since the announcement to merge the regional screen agencies last year, with several staff members having lost their jobs.

Screen WM delivers various funds on behalf of regional development agency Advantage West Midlands and the UK Film Council, both of which have been scrapped by the Government.

------------
Screen WM has launched a £100,000 transition fund for film organisations ahead of its shutdown and merger into a new national body called Creative England.

The regional screen agency has opened the fund to deliver its film strategy in the West Midlands between now and October, when Creative England becomes operational.

The money will be used to support projects in film and media education, film festivals, industry support network and archives.

Organisations can bid for a maximum of £25,000, but the fund will only support activity taking place up to September 30.

The deadline is May 20, although there is a fast-track deadline of April 26 organised for urgent applications.

The Transition Fund has been made available through the Regional Investment Fund for England Lottery and will be distributed by Screen WM on behalf of the British Film Institute.