Peaky Blinders creator plans new UK film studio

There will also be an assortment of workshop resources and post-production facilities.

“There’s a hole in the middle of the country in terms of media production, so I thought, why not build a studio there?” Knight told Broadcast. “I have a very clear vision of what it should be and what it should look like.

“I’ve had two years of meetings with the mayor, city councils and property developers, and I am trying to make the whole thing as ethical as possible. As a writer, it’s providing some good material.”

Knight is keen to fund Mercian Studios through private sources and plans to finalise deals by the end of the year. He also wants the development to benefit the local community as much as possible. The studios will be environmentally-friendly and will have publicly-accessible areas to help stimulate the local economy.

Peaky Blinders (pictured) is set and filmed in the Birmingham area and is currently in production on its fifth season.

Knight’s CV involves several collaborations with actor Tom Hardy, including the BBC drama Taboo and the acclaimed feature film Locke. Hardy has also appeared in Peaky Blinders.

England’s primary studio facilities are located in the London area, which is where the majority of high-end films and TV shows are based.

Other recent major UK studio developments have included Wolf Studios Wales in Cardiff, just over 100 miles from Birmingham. The facility has already hosted the Sky drama A Discovery of Witches and is currently home to ambitious TV adaptation His Dark Materials, based on the books by Philip Pullman.

Image: Cillian Murphy (playing Tommy Shelby) in BBC One's Peaky Blinders, S5 Photo: Matt Squire/Caryn Mandabach Productions Ltd 2017