Hugely disappointed today with the news that Stoke-on-Trent won’t be the location of a Channel 4 creative hub. Despite a well received visit, and impressive partnership of city stakeholders, Channel 4 have announced that only 6 of the original 13 shortlisted locations will proceed to the final stage, and we are not in those 6.
However, on the bright side, Channel 4 spoke very highly of our potential and are keen to return to work with the city going forward, which is really positive. We have to remember that we’ve come a long way in the last three years since 2015, with a massive change in the perception of the city. Our profile and aspiration are rightly rising, and this bid has contributed to that. Worth remembering that of the original 13 shortlisted cities, all but 3 were ‘core cities’ (the largest, regionally significant cities in the UK). For Stoke-on-Trent, an aspirant core city, to be in that group tells a fantastic story about where we have come from and where we are going.
Further comment in this Sentinel article.