Online business directory heralded as ‘instrumental’ to growth of creative industries

The launch of a free online business directory to help individuals working in the creative industries to showcase their work is ‘instrumental’ to the growth of the sector in the South East, according to the director of a purpose built, world-class production, rehearsal and training facility.

As part of a campaign to get businesses to join Creative Estuary – who have the ambition to transform the Thames Estuary into one of the most exciting cultural hubs in the world – the online business directory, which is free to join, will help to raise the profile of talented workers, creative businesses and creative industry supply chain businesses located in North Kent, South Essex and East London.

Brian Warrens, Director of The Backstage Centre in Purfleet-on-Thames, says the directory will help to tackle the biggest challenge facing the sector.

He said: “The biggest issue we are facing as an industry is that so many people are independent workers or small companies who have a limited visibility and capacity to network.

“This directory will make it easier for Estuary businesses to understand the depth and breadth of creative businesses on their doorstep. We’re keen to work with local partners and companies as part of our supply chain. For us, it’s completely about the connection with what we have already identified as a number of organisations that sit within the footprint of the Estuary.

“These creative workers, in our opinion, should be given as many opportunities as possible not to have to travel miles out of the area for work. The launch of the online business directory is instrumental to the growth of the sector, enabling people to find each other and work together.”

The online directory is populated with individuals and businesses working in creative industries such as architecture, film and television, gaming, fashion design and manufacturing, visual arts and music production as well as supply chain businesses such as construction, set building, prop making, AV technicians and logistics.

Emma Wilcox, Creative Estuary Project Director, said: “With more than 16,000 businesses supporting over 46,000 jobs and with significant headroom for growth, the creative and cultural production industry has grown rapidly in recent years. Not only will the online business directory provide a go-to place for anyone working in the industry, it will also showcase the breadth of creative businesses and talent in the region revealing the Thames Estuary as a world-leading hub of creative excellence.

“We invite anyone working in the sector to sign up and be part of something bigger. By using this directory and connecting with one another, together they will be part of the Estuary’s future.”

Creative Estuary is part of the Thames Estuary Production Corridor, which has the potential to double the size of the production sector across the Estuary, supporting the delivery of more than 50,000 new jobs and creating additional economic output (GVA) of more than £3.7bn per annum. Employment creation at this level will firmly embed the Thames Estuary as the UK’s largest concentration of creative and cultural production activity. In doing so, it will help deliver the UK’s Industrial Strategy.