MediaCityUK will evolve in stages. The first phase is due to be completed in 2011 with a £500 million investment from Peel. The overall MediaCityUK site extends to some 200 acres. Phase one comprises 36 acres with planning for 3.5 million sq ft of which 1.5 million sq ft is under construction.
MediaCityUK is a city designed specifically around the media industry. It’s a fairly broad audience – some of those who will come here might not even use the word media to describe what they do – but we expect MediaCityUK’s population to include everyone from TV producers to computer game designers.
We want this to be a genuine community, where collaborative relationships can grow and flourish. It’s a concept which we think reflects the way the industry is moving, as the boundaries between ‘new’ and ‘old’ media become increasingly blurred. This is a brave new world which will require talented people from different disciplines to work together – MediaCityUK is a place where this can happen.
Even before MediaCityUK officially opens its doors, a corner of the site is already a fully working studio complex. Formerly a ‘Freshbake’ frozen food factory, The Pie Factory offers three sound stages, a 19m infinity cove, make-up rooms, green rooms, production offices, and ‘on the lot’ companies specialising in everything from casting to camera hire. The studios opened in 2007 and recent productions include Drop Dead Gorgeous, The Visit, Cold Blood and The Royle Family.
The 200-acre waterfront site on Salford Quays will soon be home to the BBC and the University of Salford.
Ultimately, it will become a thriving media community and a brand new destination in its own right.