Bid for Channel 4 to come to Leamington launched by council

The television channel announced it is moving its headquarters out of London and local authorities now have the opportunity to bid to host either the HQ or one of two new 'hubs' it is planning to open.

And Warwick District Council is hoping the channel will base its 'Creative Hub' in south Leamington as part of an ambitious new 'creative quarter' - a plan to rejuvenate a large area of the town south of the River Leam.

The council have based its bid on the strength of the creative sector in the town - the council estimates it generated £418 million

The district council's leader Cllr Andrew Mobbs said: "The arrival of the Channel 4 Creative Hub will ensure that the creative sector continues to grow – opening new opportunities and supporting the next generation of talent.”

And a council spokesman added: "Channel 4 and the creative economy of Leamington share a common DNA – as Channel 4 was launching in 1984, Leamington was spearheading the rise of the home computer industry.

"Our spirit of innovation and disruption continues in the current day with the Silicon Spa games cluster anchored in Leamington.

"It is this common DNA combined with all the benefits Leamington has to offer that makes Warwick District Council confident that we can offer Channel 4 everything they’ve asked for in the bid."