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Creative Industries
Creative Industries, including activities such as film, TV, new media, printing and publishing, are becoming increasingly important within the Cardiff, Welsh and UK economies. Cardiff is the key driver of the creative Economy in Wales, with over 6,750 workers (3.5% of the city’s workforce) employed in this sector in 2005. The city accounts for around one-third of all Welsh creative jobs and creative employment and has increased substantially, by 53.7% between 1991 and 2005.
Cardiff’s creative sector is performing well in relation to other UK core cities. In a report which looked at the Competitive position of the city’s Creative Industries, Cardiff was ranked 9th out of 20 UK cities – above Newcastle, Nottingham, Liverpool and Belfast – in terms of the size of contribution made by the creative sector within the local economy. The robustness of the city’s creative sector was further demonstrated at the 2003 Boho Britain Conference, when Cardiff was ranked 9th out of the 40 largest UK cities in terms of creative potential.
The sector is expected to achieve significant expansion over the next 5-10 years – with Cardiff well positioned to benefit from this growth, especially given that the city is home to the second largest TV production sector outside London. Successful programmes such as Dr Who and Torchwood are produced in Cardiff and the BBC recently announced that its flagship hospital drama – Casualty - will re-locate to Cardiff in 2011, potentially contributing up to £25 million to the city’s economy.
Reflecting the Welsh Assembly Government’s approach to the sector, Cardiff has recognised the potential for developing a Creative Industries ‘hub’ or quarter with close links not only to existing business networks but also centres of excellence in higher and further education, including the University of Glamorgan’s Department of Creative Industries which has just moved into a new state-of-the-art Cardiff campus - ‘ATRiuM’ and the UWIC School of Art.
