A new creative content hub in Birmingham is due to launch in February next year. The Bond, which is located on Fazeley Street, Digbeth, is being delivered by the Digbeth Estate (Oval Real Estate).
The industrial building, which sits on the junction of the River Rea and the Grand Union Canal, was formerly an ice factory, HP Sauce factory and a bonded warehouse. It has lain derelict for the last 30 years.
Working alongside Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (GBSLEP) and Create Central, Oval has partnered with some of the region’s best designers and architects to rebuild The Bond as a creative hub for television, film and digital content production.
The hub comprises five main structures providing 55,000 sq ft for businesses of all sizes. It also offers event spaces, screening rooms and canalside studios.
James Craig, founder of Oval Real Estate, said “Oval Real Estate develop, manage and invest in buildings throughout the UK. Specialising in spaces sometimes overlooked, we aim to leave buildings and neighbourhoods better than we found them, and as custodians of the Digbeth Estate, we are working with West Midlands Combined Authority and Birmingham City Council to deliver meaningful change in Digbeth by continuing the careful transformation of the area.
“We are looking forward to revealing the creative content hub at The Bond in 2023. As the Midlands’ newest production hub, The Bond will be an epicentre for film, media and tech within the growing Digbeth community. The revival of the Bond serves as a reminder that Birmingham can turn its hand to anything; taking landmarks from the industrial revolution and making them relevant for the digital revolution. Something Birmingham can be rightly proud of.”
Ed Shedd, chair of Create Central, added, “When Create Central was launched in 2019, the members pitched the idea of a content hub – it’s so exciting to see real, tangible results from all the industry’s hard work paying off. The creative content hub will be a huge catalyst to kick-start the sector post-pandemic. It is just one of the many ways the West Midlands is at the forefront of developing new ways of working that will re-invent and future-proof traditional television, film and wider digital content production.”
