Six-figure sum spent on failed West Midlands' Channel Four bid
Around £282,000 was spent on the failed West Midlands' Channel 4 bid as the acrimonious political fail out intensifies.
The figure emerged as Birmingham City Council leader, Councillor Ian Ward, was forced to clarify the authority's spending on the bid.
Last week Channel 4 revealed Leeds had been chosen to host its new headquarters beating Birmingham in the process.
Addressing the chamber during full council on Tuesday, Councillor Ward clarified the authority spent £52,000 towards the region’s total £282,000 campaign.
Councillor Ward congratulated Leeds as well as Bristol and Glasgow where Channel 4 is to establish creative hubs.
He added: “These are large sums of money. In entering any bidding process you have to spend money and there is a risk that money will not always provide a return.
“We won the bid to host the Commonwealth Games but in this instance we were not successful bid.
“I think back 18 months when we were bidding for the Games, Coventry was bidding for the City of Culture and we were also bidding for Channel 4.
“At the time people did not believe we would win all three of them and that is what’s happened.
“But I will say that two out of three ain’t bad.”
Kingstanding Councillor Gary Sambrook, who worked as a campaign manager for Halesowen and Rowley Regis MP James Morris, criticised the leader for trying to blame the unsuccessful campaign on Tory West Midlands Mayor Andy Street who spearheaded the process.
He said: “It is an overriding characteristic of this administration that they always manage to find someone else to blame.”
Councillor Ward added: “Let’s be clear, when you set out on things and you put yourself forward to be leader, you have to, at the end of the process, stand up and explain, and be accountable for the success and failure."
It is understood that Mr Street is to provide feedback to all those involved in the bid and the region’s creative community later this week.
Wolverhampton South West MP Eleanor Smith had spearheaded a campaign to have Channel 4 bring its headquarters to the city instead.
The bid was funded in three phases.
A total of £100,000 was spent initially in April in response to Channel 4’s brochure, which was split equally between the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (GBSLEP, Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership (CWLEP) and Black Country Local Enterprise Partnership (BCLEP).
In June a further £62,000 was spent on a formal pitch, split five ways between WMCA, GBSLEP, CWLEP, Birmingham City Council (BCC) and Coventry City Council (CCC)
Then in August another £120,000 was spent on a formal bid as part of the advanced negotiations, divided equally between WMCA, GBSLEP and BCC.
By Carl Jackson
Local Democracy Reporter
