A couple of weeks ago Dave Peebles and myself were at a brainstorming meeting chaired by Lara Ratnaraja of Business link about the possibility of developing a “Creative Marketplace” in the region. It’s still very much in the consultation / planning stage and they’re doing a survey. If you’re working here it’s probably in your interests to get your opinions else it turn into a government funded turkey.

Here’s the blurb:

The East Birmingham & North Solihull Regeneration Zone (ebns Ltd) with our funders Advantage West Midlands have been investing in the development of Digbeth and Eastside as a Learning and Leisure Quarter and a centre for the creative industries, particularly the digital media sector. We have worked with a range of partners including Birmingham City Council, the Custard Factory, the Bond, Vivid, Groundwork, the Learning & Skills Council and others to develop a range of projects, create new workspace and provide new learning opportunities.

One of the project ideas now under discussion is the establishment of a Creative Marketplace, and we would like your input to help decide whether there is the demand for this, and if so what it should be. We therefore want to take this opportunity to canvass your views. We would welcome your responses to the following questions.

And here’s the survey.

If, like me, you hate filling out these things (though it is a very short survey, to be fair), feel free to blog your ideas and link to them in the comments here.