Liverpool and Hertsmere launch Creative & Innovation Corridor 2026

Key Points

• Liverpool City Council and Hertsmere Borough Council have agreed to enter into a groundbreaking agreement for the development of a Creative & Innovation Corridor partnership that will bring together two of the best known creative economies of the UK.
• The deal seeks to promote and increase investment, innovation and growth in the creative industries, with a special emphasis on film, television, and screen-related sectors.
• Elstree Studios, BBC Elstree Centre and new Sky Studios Elstree in Hertsmere are considered major centres of the UK television and film industry.
• Liverpool City Region has already started building its creative cluster with impressive growth of the music, games, film, TV, and digital content industries, as well as public and private investments in innovation.
• The idea behind the corridor partnership is to establish a strategic partnership between the two regional screen economies in order to put forward a united proposal to international investors.
• Jobs, skills, investment, and opportunity creation for the local community have been listed by council leaders and officials from both regions among key objectives of the partnership.

Liverpool (Liverpool standard) October 02, 2026 – Liverpool and Hertsmere, the home of the UK’s television and film industry, have today signed a landmark partnership in a move designed to boost investment, innovation and creative industries across both regions. The agreement between Liverpool City Council and Hertsmere Borough Council will create a new Creative & Innovation Corridor linking two of the UK’s most recognisable creative economies.

As reported in a press release published by Hertsmere Borough Council and carried by Liverpool Express, the corridor is intended to connect Liverpool City Region’s expanding creative cluster with Hertsmere’s established screen sector centred on Elstree and Borehamwood. Hertsmere’s creative industries, led by Elstree Studios and the newly completed Sky Studios Elstree, generated an estimated £375 million in direct gross value added in 2021 and employed more than 7,000 people across over 1,000 mostly creative businesses, according to the council’s own economic evidence.

In Liverpool, the creative industries are described as a fast-growing sector employing over 15,000 people and contributing around £1.2 billion to the local economy, with recognised strengths in film, TV, music, gaming and digital content. The city region has also benefited from national programmes such as the Creative Clusters initiative and the Creative Places Growth Fund, which have supported music innovation and wider creative-sector development.

How will the Creative & Innovation Corridor work in practice?

The corridor is structured as a strategic partnership between the two councils’ economic development and creative-industries teams, with the aim of aligning policy, investment promotion and skills activity. Hertsmere’s existing Creative Hertsmere strategy already sets out priorities for nurturing employment and enterprise, driving a sector approach focused on creative industries, and improving physical and digital connectivity.

Liverpool City Region, meanwhile, operates cluster boards for key growth sectors including Digital & Creative, which bring together industry leaders to influence policy, stimulate productivity and identify investment opportunities. The new corridor is expected to sit alongside these existing structures, creating a formal link between Hertsmere’s screen cluster and Liverpool’s creative industries cluster board.

As reported by Hertsmere Borough Council on its official X account, the partnership is intended to bring together two of the UK’s most recognisable creative economies and create a joint proposition for international investors. Nick Small, Cabinet Member for Growth & Economy at Liverpool City Council and a speaker at recent UK screen investment events, has been associated with the council’s screen and growth agenda, underscoring the emphasis on inward investment and real-estate opportunities for studios and supply-chain businesses.

What do council leaders say about the partnership?

Councillor Jeremy Newmark, Leader of Hertsmere Borough Council, set out the growth trajectory for the screen sector at the UK Screen Investment Summit dinner in mid-September 2026, where he highlighted the remarkable expansion of the UK’s screen industry and called for a more integrated approach to investment, infrastructure, technology and talent. At that event, he indicated that Hertsmere and Liverpool were expected to sign a landmark screen corridor agreement later in the month, creating a strategic partnership between their regional screen economies.

Newmark said: “Hertsmere is proud to be helping lead that conversation and ensuring our communities continue to benefit from the jobs, skills, investment and opportunities that this thriving industry brings.” The statement, made ahead of the formal signing, frames the corridor as a vehicle for ensuring that local residents and businesses share in the benefits of screen-sector growth.

In Liverpool, council leaders have repeatedly emphasised collaboration between the public and private sectors as a route to unlocking investment and innovation. Councillor Liam Robinson, Leader of Liverpool City Council, has spoken at Westminster events about the opportunities that collaboration can unlock across the city region, including in innovation, digital sectors and the visitor economy. While specific quoted remarks on the Hertsmere deal were not published in the initial announcements, the broader policy direction set out by Liverpool’s leadership aligns with the corridor’s focus on joint investment promotion and skills development.

Which sectors and sites are expected to benefit?

The corridor explicitly targets the film and television production industry, but its scope also covers wider creative and digital activities that support screen production, including post-production, visual effects, games development and music technology. In Hertsmere, the Elstree Way Employment Area, Centennial Park Industrial Area and Borehamwood town centre are identified as key sites for creative-sector clustering, with scope for regeneration and intensification of studio and supply-chain uses.

Liverpool’s creative cluster is concentrated in the city centre and the Baltic Triangle, with major assets and global companies operating alongside a strong base of freelancers and small and medium-sized enterprises. The city region has also been developing its innovation ecosystem through initiatives such as the Liverpool City Region AI Summit and partnerships with universities on music and creative-technology research.

By linking these two geographies, the corridor is intended to enable businesses to access a wider pool of talent, facilities and investors, while allowing both councils to market a more compelling, joined-up offer to international production companies and technology firms.

What are the expected economic and skills outcomes?

Both councils have framed the partnership in terms of tangible outcomes for jobs, skills and local economic growth. Hertsmere’s economic evidence shows that its creative industries already support thousands of high-value jobs, and the council has been rolling out Skills Bootcamps in film and TV, digital and other sectors to expand the local talent pipeline.

Liverpool City Region’s Local Skills Improvement Plan identifies creative industries as a fast-growing sector and sets out ambitions to align skills provision with employer needs through its Creative Industries Cluster Board. The corridor is expected to create new routes for sharing best practice on skills programmes, apprenticeships and work-experience pathways between Hertsmere and Liverpool, building on existing models such as Hertsmere’s Connect to Work programme and Liverpool’s university-linked creative clusters.

Council documents from both sides stress that the aim is not only to attract large-scale studio investment, but also to ensure that local small businesses and freelancers can access supply-chain opportunities created by major productions.

Background: how did the Creative & Innovation Corridor develop?

The Creative & Innovation Corridor builds on several years of separate but parallel development in both areas. Hertsmere developed its Creative Strategy during 2023, setting out a borough-wide approach to culture and creativity that explicitly references the creative industries, skills gaps and the need for sector-focused networks. This fed into the council’s economic development priorities, including the Elstree Creative Corridor concept along the east–west axis from the M1 through Borehamwood and Elstree to the A1.

In Liverpool, the city region has been designated a Creative Cluster for the music sector and has received multimillion-pound funding for research, development and innovation in creative technologies. The Combined Authority’s cluster boards for Digital & Creative have been used to align policy and investment around the sector, while national programmes such as the Creative Places Growth Fund have devolved funding to the mayoral authority to support games, film, music technology and creative services.

Discussions between the two councils appear to have crystallised in 2026, with Hertsmere’s leader signalling the impending screen corridor agreement at the UK Screen Investment Summit in September before the formal signing at the end of the month. The partnership was then announced publicly by both councils and reported by local media, including Liverpool Express, as a landmark step in linking two of the UK’s most prominent creative economies.

Prediction: how could this development affect creative workers and businesses?

For creative workers, freelancers and small businesses in film, TV, music, games and digital content, the corridor is likely to mean greater access to cross-regional opportunities, from short-term production work to longer-term supply-chain contracts. If the partnership successfully aligns skills programmes and investment promotion, workers in both Liverpool and Hertsmere could benefit from a wider range of training routes, including bootcamps, apprenticeships and university-linked projects that are recognised by employers on both sides of the corridor.

For businesses, the joint proposition to international investors could increase the flow of large-scale productions and technology projects into both regions, creating demand for local services in areas such as post-production, visual effects, set design, music composition and digital innovation. However, the extent of the impact will depend on how effectively the two councils translate the high-level agreement into concrete projects, funding streams and marketing activity over the next few years.

If implemented as outlined in council strategies and public statements, the Creative & Innovation Corridor has the potential to strengthen the UK’s overall screen and creative infrastructure by linking two established hubs, while offering creative workers and businesses in Liverpool and Hertsmere a broader, more connected market for their skills and services.

Key Points

• A pioneering Creative & Innovation Corridor partnership deal has been struck by Liverpool City Council and Hertsmere Borough Council, which will connect two of the UK’s best-known creative economies.
• This partnership will promote greater investment, innovation, and growth within the creative industries, especially in film, television, and other related screen sectors.
• Hertsmere houses Elstree Studios, BBC Elstree Centre, and Sky Studios Elstree. It is a key location within the UK for television and film industries.
• Liverpool City Region has developed a creative industries cluster and seen significant growth in music, gaming, film, TV, and digital content industries along with investment in skills and innovation.
• The partnership hopes to form a strategic relationship between the two regions’ screen industries to present a combined offer to the global investor community and enhance their supply chain.
• The jobs, skills, investment, and opportunities for the community have been identified by the Council leadership and officials from the two areas as the main objectives of the partnership.

Liverpool (Liverpool standard) October 02, 2026 – Liverpool and Hertsmere, the home of the UK’s television and film industry, have today signed a landmark partnership in a move designed to boost investment, innovation and creative industries across both regions. The agreement between Liverpool City Council and Hertsmere Borough Council will create a new Creative & Innovation Corridor linking two of the UK’s most recognisable creative economies.

As reported in a press release published by Hertsmere Borough Council and carried by Liverpool Express, the corridor is intended to connect Liverpool City Region’s expanding creative cluster with Hertsmere’s established screen sector centred on Elstree and Borehamwood. Hertsmere’s creative industries, led by Elstree Studios and the newly completed Sky Studios Elstree, generated an estimated £375 million in direct gross value added in 2021 and employed more than 7,000 people across over 1,000 mostly creative businesses, according to the council’s own economic evidence.

In Liverpool, the creative industries are described as a fast-growing sector employing over 15,000 people and contributing around £1.2 billion to the local economy, with recognised strengths in film, TV, music, gaming and digital content. The city region has also benefited from national programmes such as the Creative Clusters initiative and the Creative Places Growth Fund, which have supported music innovation and wider creative-sector development.

How will the Creative & Innovation Corridor work in practice?

The corridor is structured as a strategic partnership between the two councils’ economic development and creative-industries teams, with the aim of aligning policy, investment promotion and skills activity. Hertsmere’s existing Creative Hertsmere strategy already sets out priorities for nurturing employment and enterprise, driving a sector approach focused on creative industries, and improving physical and digital connectivity.

Liverpool City Region, meanwhile, operates cluster boards for key growth sectors including Digital & Creative, which bring together industry leaders to influence policy, stimulate productivity and identify investment opportunities. The new corridor is expected to sit alongside these existing structures, creating a formal link between Hertsmere’s screen cluster and Liverpool’s creative industries cluster board.

As reported by Hertsmere Borough Council on its official X account, the partnership is intended to bring together two of the UK’s most recognisable creative economies and create a joint proposition for international investors. Nick Small, Cabinet Member for Growth & Economy at Liverpool City Council and a speaker at recent UK screen investment events, has been associated with the council’s screen and growth agenda, underscoring the emphasis on inward investment and real-estate opportunities for studios and supply-chain businesses.

What do council leaders say about the partnership?

Councillor Jeremy Newmark, Leader of Hertsmere Borough Council, set out the growth trajectory for the screen sector at the UK Screen Investment Summit dinner in mid-September 2026, where he highlighted the remarkable expansion of the UK’s screen industry and called for a more integrated approach to investment, infrastructure, technology and talent. At that event, he indicated that Hertsmere and Liverpool were expected to sign a landmark screen corridor agreement later in the month, creating a strategic partnership between their regional screen economies.

Newmark said: “Hertsmere is proud to be helping lead that conversation and ensuring our communities continue to benefit from the jobs, skills, investment and opportunities that this thriving industry brings.” The statement, made ahead of the formal signing, frames the corridor as a vehicle for ensuring that local residents and businesses share in the benefits of screen-sector growth.

In Liverpool, council leaders have repeatedly emphasised collaboration between the public and private sectors as a route to unlocking investment and innovation. Councillor Liam Robinson, Leader of Liverpool City Council, has spoken at Westminster events about the opportunities that collaboration can unlock across the city region, including in innovation, digital sectors and the visitor economy. While specific quoted remarks on the Hertsmere deal were not published in the initial announcements, the broader policy direction set out by Liverpool’s leadership aligns with the corridor’s focus on joint investment promotion and skills development.

Which sectors and sites are expected to benefit?

The corridor explicitly targets the film and television production industry, but its scope also covers wider creative and digital activities that support screen production, including post-production, visual effects, games development and music technology. In Hertsmere, the Elstree Way Employment Area, Centennial Park Industrial Area and Borehamwood town centre are identified as key sites for creative-sector clustering, with scope for regeneration and intensification of studio and supply-chain uses.

Liverpool’s creative cluster is concentrated in the city centre and the Baltic Triangle, with major assets and global companies operating alongside a strong base of freelancers and small and medium-sized enterprises. The city region has also been developing its innovation ecosystem through initiatives such as the Liverpool City Region AI Summit and partnerships with universities on music and creative-technology research.

By linking these two geographies, the corridor is intended to enable businesses to access a wider pool of talent, facilities and investors, while allowing both councils to market a more compelling, joined-up offer to international production companies and technology firms.

What are the expected economic and skills outcomes?

Both councils have framed the partnership in terms of tangible outcomes for jobs, skills and local economic growth. Hertsmere’s economic evidence shows that its creative industries already support thousands of high-value jobs, and the council has been rolling out Skills Bootcamps in film and TV, digital and other sectors to expand the local talent pipeline.

Liverpool City Region’s Local Skills Improvement Plan identifies creative industries as a fast-growing sector and sets out ambitions to align skills provision with employer needs through its Creative Industries Cluster Board. The corridor is expected to create new routes for sharing best practice on skills programmes, apprenticeships and work-experience pathways between Hertsmere and Liverpool, building on existing models such as Hertsmere’s Connect to Work programme and Liverpool’s university-linked creative clusters.

Council documents from both sides stress that the aim is not only to attract large-scale studio investment, but also to ensure that local small businesses and freelancers can access supply-chain opportunities created by major productions.

Background: how did the Creative & Innovation Corridor develop?

The Creative & Innovation Corridor builds on several years of separate but parallel development in both areas. Hertsmere developed its Creative Strategy during 2023, setting out a borough-wide approach to culture and creativity that explicitly references the creative industries, skills gaps and the need for sector-focused networks. This fed into the council’s economic development priorities, including the Elstree Creative Corridor concept along the east–west axis from the M1 through Borehamwood and Elstree to the A1.

In Liverpool, the city region has been designated a Creative Cluster for the music sector and has received multimillion-pound funding for research, development and innovation in creative technologies. The Combined Authority’s cluster boards for Digital & Creative have been used to align policy and investment around the sector, while national programmes such as the Creative Places Growth Fund have devolved funding to the mayoral authority to support games, film, music technology and creative services.

Discussions between the two councils appear to have crystallised in 2026, with Hertsmere’s leader signalling the impending screen corridor agreement at the UK Screen Investment Summit in September before the formal signing at the end of the month. The partnership was then announced publicly by both councils and reported by local media, including Liverpool Express, as a landmark step in linking two of the UK’s most prominent creative economies.

Prediction: how could this development affect creative workers and businesses?

For creative workers, freelancers and small businesses in film, TV, music, games and digital content, the corridor is likely to mean greater access to cross-regional opportunities, from short-term production work to longer-term supply-chain contracts. If the partnership successfully aligns skills programmes and investment promotion, workers in both Liverpool and Hertsmere could benefit from a wider range of training routes, including bootcamps, apprenticeships and university-linked projects that are recognised by employers on both sides of the corridor.

For businesses, the joint proposition to international investors could increase the flow of large-scale productions and technology projects into both regions, creating demand for local services in areas such as post-production, visual effects, set design, music composition and digital innovation. However, the extent of the impact will depend on how effectively the two councils translate the high-level agreement into concrete projects, funding streams and marketing activity over the next few years.

If implemented as outlined in council strategies and public statements, the Creative & Innovation Corridor has the potential to strengthen the UK’s overall screen and creative infrastructure by linking two established hubs, while offering creative workers and businesses in Liverpool and Hertsmere a broader, more connected market for their skills and services.