With our rich history, diverse landscapes, and world-class production crew and facilities, the UK is considered one of the most attractive destinations in the world for the film and TV industry.
The varied landscapes and diverse built heritage across the English regions have become the backdrop to content admired globally and championed by Filming in England and Creative UK for some time.
Audience favourites include The Batman (2022), shot in Liverpool; Bridgerton (2020-), shot in Bath; Peaky Blinders (2013-2022), shot across the North and Midlands; House of the Dragon (2022-), in Cornwall and Devon; and Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (2023) in Birmingham, Derbyshire, and North Yorkshire.
Now, local authorities have an easy-to-use toolkit that can demonstrate the inward economic investment from the production of such feature films and high-end television series – which, in turn, could help them make the case for further growth and investment in local areas.
The Local Economic Impact Toolkit, funded by the British Film Institute using National Lottery funding, has been produced by Creative England’s Filming in England team, part of the Creative UK group – the independent network for the UK’s creative industries – in collaboration with Olsberg SPI, a leading international creative industries consultancy.
Key features of the toolkit include: a production checklist for local authorities; a rate card that calculates the average daily spend of a production; ‘ripple’ analysis case studies that demonstrate the effect that production spend can have on a local economy; and a ‘regional impact tool’ that measures the economic uplifts in terms of value created and employment.
The toolkit will be invaluable in measuring and communicating the impact of the screen sector on local areas, as well as highlighting the economic benefits.
This is a significant step forward in ensuring that the UK’s screen sector continues to thrive, while also supporting the growth and prosperity of local communities.