MediaCity in Salford, Greater Manchester, began its rapid expansion into a world-leading TV production centre 10 years ago, when BBC staff moved in soon after Dock 10 launched its new studios and post-production business.
Back in 2007, when Salford City Council and the Peel Group won their joint bid to house the BBC’s new northern base, I received a call from a very animated Felicity Goodey, the main visionary behind the project.
Richard Smith has been the BBC’s sustainability manager for 10 years. He was previously an on-screen reporter for BBC regional news programmes, including Midlands Today. As home affairs correspondent for BBC South East, he reported on drugs, asylum seekers and homelessness, and won an RTS award.
Based at MediaCity UK in Salford, Smith heads a team working to raise awareness of environmental issues within the television industry and reduce the carbon footprint of programme production.
As TV producers, we’re facing more global competition than ever before. Whenever they wish, viewers can watch one of many programmes from around the world on Netflix or Amazon, rather than one of our shows. Or they can stream or download dozens of feature films available via their TV sets.
I genuinely believe that the best response to this difficult situation is to embrace the creativity of the whole country, and not just rely on Londonbased programme-makers.
