Region set to challenge Soho as creative capital

Dec 10 2009 by Andrew Mernin, The Journal

PLANS for a digital superhighway linking the region’s best creative brains with those in the rest of the North of England have been revealed in a bid to challenge Soho’s status as the creative capital of the UK.

NorthernNet will connect creative companies, from digital media and visualisation to film-makers, building collaborations that could propel them on to the world stage.

Middlesbrough’s "Soho in a Box" Boho One at Middlehaven has been named as one of the Media Access Bureaus alongside 18 other centres from Newcastle to Liverpool.

It aims to emulate Sohonet, which has helped establish London as one of the world’s commercially successful creative hubs. Mark Elliott, CEO of DigitalCity Business at Boho One, took his original NorthernNet proposal to One North East three years ago.

He said: "There are advantages of scaling if you want to chase the big contracts and compete on the world stage.

"Companies need to combine forces to punch above their weight and go after the meatier projects.

"Soho is one of the most creative centres in the world, but if you take special effects for movies, businesses there were losing out before Sohonet.