Your say / channel 4
‘Bristol ended up being the perfect fit for us’
Bristol is in the running to become the new home for Channel 4. With broadcasting bosses due to make a final decision this October, Bristol24/7 has been asking people across the city to share their stories of the city.
When we were told our original London studio space was to be sold for residential development, we saw it as an opportunity because we’d been wanting to expand our production space and capacity for some time.
Having initially begun our search in London, we found it challenging to source the right property, because we need a working space which is neither standard office nor pure industrial, but sits somewhere in between.
is needed now More than ever
Due largely to redevelopment and re-purposing, that type of available creative space in London was becoming increasingly rare. So we came up with an alternative plan of retaining a smaller presence in London and relocating our main production hub outside of the capital.
Looking further afield, we seriously considered locations in Brighton, Manchester and Bristol.
Ultimately, we went with Bristol, because we found the right type and size space there, the transport links to London were comparatively quick and easy.
Also, much as we all loved London, we felt that the more relaxed lifestyle and reduced logistical issues of living and operating in Bristol would, for those of us who relocated, likely enable more focus on creative, better work/life balance, and less focus on battling the inevitable various daily challenges of living in a ‘megacity’.
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Read more: ‘Bristol can provide a home of opportunity for Channel 4’
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Change always brings some uncertainty and we understood there was an element of risk that moving a substantial part of our operation outside of the capital might bring unforeseen problems. However, since setting up in Bristol, we’ve easily been able to find all the supplementary services and facilities we need locally, and we’ve built a 3,600 sq ft creative sound and music facility at The Bottle Yard, which is far beyond anything we’d have been able to achieve with the same amount of investment in London.
Add to that Bristol’s raw, creative vibe and rich artistic and cultural landscape, and it’s ended up being the perfect fit for us. Everyone has been really happy with the move, and we’ve never looked back.
Andrew Diey
After cutting his creative milk teeth freelancing for ITV and Channel 4, and subsequently working inhouse at BBC, Andrew Diey founded Radium in London in 2007.
Radium has gone on to become an Emmy-winning, multi award-winning creative music and sound post production team, working on a vast array of projects including major channel rebrand projects for Sky TV & National Geographic, sonic brands and interfaces for EE, Nokia and Bentley Motors.
Main photo by Jessie He
Read more: ‘Bristol is making a unified effort to level the playing field for the next generation’
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