Bold new actions to support £1.7bn creative production in the Thames Estuary Production Corridor

We Made That has led the team working with PRD, Tom Fleming Creative Consultancy, Hawkins\Brown, Ramidus and sector advisors Jan Miller and Suzie Norton to identify new development sites for creative and cultural production, formulate the Road Maps for Growth and develop feasibility studies for new flagship cultural infrastructure across the region.

The two Thames Estuary Production Corridor Road Maps for Growth set out a clear pathway to convert the region’s economic potential through a range of initiatives in the fashion design and manufacturing sector and screen sector. Commissioned by the Greater London Authority, in partnership with the Thames Estuary Growth Board and Creative Estuary, they bring together local councils, developers, industry leaders, institutions, businesses, education providers and community organisations.

The focus is on delivering real change by attracting investment; promoting assets (land, workforce, institutions); unleashing space, and transforming the approach to sustainable development.

The team mapped over 650 potential sites across the estuary to identify opportunities for cultural production, which now form a comprehensive pipeline of projects. This includes three ‘accelerator projects’: a fashion manufacturing and upcycling cluster in Tower Hamlets; a creative campus for screen and immersive digital industries in Basildon, and a screen mixed media hub in Margate.

The Thames Estuary Production Corridor Road Maps for Growth reveal how the screen and fashion production industries are booming, each growing twice as fast compared to the national average and generating over £800m of economic value annually.

To kickstart economic growth – one of the Labour government’s five missions – putting creative industries at the heart of a national growth plan needs place-based actions as set out in these reports: the region has the potential to create 50,000 jobs and add £3.7 billion to the nation’s economy by 2050. The Thames Estuary is home to film studios and fabricators, dance schools and digital production houses, music and media facilities – all the building blocks of the UK’s creative and cultural economy.

The report illustrates how fashion production in the Thames Estuary Production Corridor has proved particularly resilient during turbulent times. The sector is growing more than twice as fast in the region compared to the rest of the UK, seeing 16% business growth and 12% employment growth between 2016-2021. At the same time, the industry is facing sustainability challenges to become greener and fairer.

Priorities for fashion design and manufacturing in the Thames Estuary Production Corridor include:

• Micro-clustering and circularity: Seed, grow and nurture fashion micro-clusters, knitted together through circular and ethical practices.
• Innovation and skills: Drive synergies across tech, craft, waste and resources, education and skills.
• Placemaking and community development: Create opportunities for future talent through skills, community development and rejuvenating places.

This means new needs for infrastructure and types of future projects which will drive resilient and sustainable growth, support innovation and attract investment. The Road Maps identify opportunities for flexible studio, production and small-scale equipped spaces for graduates, start-ups and small businesses, through to an on-demand micro-factory production centre and upcycling hub.

There is clear demand for screen production in the estuary as well as significant momentum and regional capacity. Between 2016 and 2021, more than 840 screen industry enterprises moved into the region, growing the sector by 42% to 2,005 businesses – more than double the UK average growth rate. As a result, 1,200 new screen industries jobs were created with a 25% increase in employment.

Priorities for the screen industry in the Thames Estuary Production Corridor include:

• Net zero: Be a champion of net zero and the circularity principles, ensuring sustainability is a key competitive advantage
• Innovation and skills: Ensure that a credible, diverse, and high quality workforce and supply chain is developed alongside infrastructure, and coordinate this to match the production pipeline
• Diversity: Make the sector more accessible and support the development of a diverse and inclusive screen culture.

Research and consultation with commercial operators, screen industries sector leaders and local councils highlighted key gaps in space provision for the sector. Priority initiatives

and projects have been identified to develop a transformational portfolio of screen assets across the region. These include specialist workspaces for the digital, animation and immersive industries through to a regional screen hub leading film, culture and digital media in the production corridor.

Read and download the road maps:

Road Map for Growth: Fashion Design and Manufacturing

Road Map for Growth: Screen Industries

Photos: Philipp Ebeling and graphic design: Maddison Graphic