Lights, camera, action! In this column, I thought I would update you on exciting changes now happening to the spiritual home of Birmingham’s Irish community – Digbeth.

The spotlight is now falling on Digbeth like never before – as massive investment turns it into a centre for film and TV production.

This month saw the opening of Digbeth Loc. Studios, which is the brainchild of Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight and business partner Piers Read, the former MD of Digbeth’s Custard Factory.

The landmark development will convert disused, old Victorian buildings into a modern, state-of-the-art studio complex, with three film studios, production offices and construction workshops, spanning 80,000 square foot of regenerated space in Digbeth.

It has been established with £1.3m of investment from Birmingham City Council, together with landowner Homes England and support from the West Midlands Combined Authority.

But it’s just one of a cluster of media and TV developments moving to Digbeth.

The Bond, next door in Fazeley St, has launched film and TV production facilities too. This £18m facility has had an investment of £3m from Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (GBSLEP).

And plans for a brand-new BBC HQ in Digbeth, on the site of the old Typhoo premises – called ‘The Tea Factory – have been approved by the city council. The Beeb should move to Digbeth from their current home at the Mailbox in 2025.

That’s not all. The BBC will also be converting the old Grade II Banana Warehouse into a purpose-built studio for the ever-popular MasterChef – another addition to Digbeth’s growing creative heart.

I am incredibly excited that the BBC is opening a new chapter in the West Midlands with this major investment to create their greenest and most modern facility ever - right here in the heart of our region.

Not only will their phenomenal new home at the former Typhoo Factory act as the catalyst for the wider regeneration of Digbeth to become a global creative quarter, but it will also act as a magnet for young creative talent right across the West Midlands and the wider UK.

Welcome to another Birmingham Irish Association news update

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