Homes England has agreed a deal with development firm Digbeth Loc that will see the BBC’s MasterChef production studios move to its Warwick Bar site, in Birmingham, in 2024.
Digbeth Loc is run by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, in partnership with Stanhope.
Under the agreement, the government’s housing and regeneration agency will lease part of its land at Fazeley Street to Digbeth Loc, which will develop proposals for a mixed-used scheme, starting with the MasterChef production hub.
The lease on MasterChef‘s existing premises at 3 Mills Studios, in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, E3, expires next year.
The government agency is working with Digbeth Loc on finalising the agreement for a circa 250-year lease and on securing planning for the scheme within the next six months, in time for filming to begin on the programme’s 2024 series.
Homes England assembled Warwick Bar – a collection of derelict and brownfield sites around Digbeth – in recent years to help catalyse the wider regeneration of Digbeth. The regeneration of the wider Warwick Bar site has scope deliver around 1,000 new homes, and around 270,000 sq ft of employment or educational floor space.
Knight said: “To have such an iconic, globally respected British brand come to the heart of Birmingham is a genuine game-changer for the city and the West Midlands.
“Birmingham welcomes MasterChef with the promise that more is yet to come.”
Neil Hook, project director at Homes England, told EG that the agency is negotiating a long leasehold to allow Digbeth Loc to “develop and deliver the facilities for the future in Birmingham”.
“This is a locally-driven partnership… that will have a transformational town centre impact,” he said.
The agency will draw up the masterplan for its remaining two Fazeley Street plots in parallel with the Digbeth Loc Studios site.
Hook highlighted the potential for the wider site to be used by more studios and production companies, including others in Knight’s stable, as well as the scope to partner with educational institutions such as the University of Birmingham to foster new talent.
The agreement comes weeks after the government announced that Homes England’s remit will be extended with a renewed focus on the regeneration of towns and cities, as part of its Levelling Up white paper.
Mike Palin, interim executive director for markets, partners and places at Homes England, said: “The regeneration of Warwick Bar will have a transformational impact on central Birmingham and the wider economy.
“Not only will it create jobs in the area, it will stimulate the development of a creative hub for the city, delivering on Birmingham City Council’s aspirations and the Levelling Up agenda. The relocation of such a major production operation from London to the city is just the first example of that.
“This agreement is testament to the importance of partnership working in placemaking. We have the expertise, the influence and the appetite to support and empower local leadership to meet their ambitions and transform derelict urban sites into beautiful communities.”
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