Culture, Media and Sport CommitteeWritten evidence submitted by Provident plc

Summary

1. Provident Financial is one of the largest private sector employers in Bradford. More than 900 of our staff are based in our company headquarters, which is close to the National Media Museum in the city centre. Our principal interest in retaining the Media Museum within the city stems from our need to recruit and retain staff. Our staff use Bradford’s city centre amenities on a daily basis. In addition, thee educational and leisure opportunities the Media Museum offers will have been experienced by many of them who were educated in Bradford or who now live in the area.

2. Looking beyond our own interests as an organisation we can also endorse the value of the museum to the Bradford district as a whole. It is not just an attractive local asset but an important component to be retained if Bradford’s city centre is to be successfully regenerated. It deservedly can be described as a beacon which identifies Bradford nationally and internationally. With continued investment it can be part of Bradford’s ongoing efforts to secure inward investment and a key resource for the development of technical and communication skills in the district’s current and future generations. Given that high value manufacturing and media and communications have been identified as sectors of the UK economy it would be desirable to grow, the contribution the museum has and could continue to make in this regard is worth retaining.

Provident Financial

3. Established in Bradford in 1880, Provident Financial is one of the UK’s leading suppliers of personal credit products to the non-standard lending market. We serve over 2.7 million customers through a network of over 400 branches, administrative offices, call centres and web sites. More than 900 of our staff are based in our corporate headquarters in Bradford city centre.

PFG’s Perspective on the Contribution of the National Media Museum to the Bradford Economy

4. Provident was founded in Bradford in 1880. Around five years ago, when the company decided it needed new premises to handle both its current operations and to allow for future growth, it had to consider where its headquarters should be located. The company assessed sites outside the Bradford district but the final decision was to remain within the city. Thus approximately three years ago the company headquarters were relocated from premises in a historically industrial location on the edge of the city centre to new, purpose-built premises in the centre of the city facing an urban park, City Park. (The National Media Museum sits at the other end of a semi circle of buildings which also overlook City Park.)

5. An important element of Provident’s decision to relocate to the city centre was the city council’s ongoing plan for redevelopment of the city centre. This included the creation of a contemporary urban park fringed by restaurants, shops and galleries. We were persuaded that when completed, this overall package of regeneration would offer a more attractive external environment and range of amenities to current employees, potential new employees and visitors.

6. The now completed City Park is a large plaza in front of the town hall whose use can alternate between a modern, paved amenity including a substantial water feature and a venue for outdoor events such as markets, festivals and concerts. Part of the attraction for Provident relocating to a site which overlooks the park is the attractive open, outdoor facility it offers. The council’s aspiration was that over time additional businesses would be attracted to the possibilities offered by locating proximate to City Park. Such relocations would both boost occupancy rates of property and employment in the city centre. Indeed Provident has increased its employee head count from 685 to 933 since moving to its current city centre location.

7. However City Park was not intended to be the sole component of Bradford’s city centre regeneration, rather it was anticipated that it would contribute to an overall package of city centre amenities. As sustainable solutions continue to be pursued for proximate city centre landmarks such as the Odeon cinema complex and the proposed Westfield retail development, the importance of retaining ongoing visitor and educational attractions such as the National Media Museum has become greater.

8. As a long-established Bradford business with a strong track record on corporate responsibility, Provident Financial has a spectrum of relationships with other stakeholders in the district such as the Council, the local voluntary sector, schools and local businesses within our supply chain. Thus we are aware of the broad-based challenges the district faces and the importance of retaining ‘landmark’ amenities such as the National Media Museum within it.

9. In addition to the Museum’s obvious educational and recreational value it also serves as a positive identifying characteristic of the city. Thus it is a single but vitally important part of the critical mass which Bradford needs to retain and develop if the district is to be viewed as a location of choice for employers and employees. The museum is a nationally and internationally recognised institution and at the heart of the city’s status as the first UNESCO City of Film. Such tangible attributes are an exceptionally useful identifier for those seeking to secure inward investment to the city.

10. Provident urges the Committee to use its influence to support the retention of the National Media Museum in Bradford as a key component underpinning the commercial and cultural well-being of the city.

June 2013