SALFORD could become the media training capital of Britain as part of its bid to bring BBC jobs to the north.

New details of the planned Media City at Salford Quays can be revealed today and include a cutting-edge training centre that could boast a "writers' academy" set up by Shameless creator Paul Abbott.

The centre would develop the industry stars of the future in its Media City home and use "virtual" training by linking to colleges and universities across the north.

Felicity Goodey, who helped lead the Salford bid, said the centre would "set a benchmark" for media training.

She said: "Training needs to be industry-led because the industry is changing so rapidly. Many people train these days at higher education institutions and a lot of them do a very fine job. But they also need to keep up to speed and teach in the most relevant way.

"There are some very good training courses but also some blooming awful ones. With what we plan to do really good providers will raise their game but the bad ones might quietly slip away.

Academy

"Paul Abbott is a huge supporter of the project and wants to start a proper writers' academy."

Salford's bid centres on a Media City built on land at the Quays owned by Peel Holdings, who developed the Trafford Centre.

It would also include a media research institute with links to 15 leading universities in the north of England and a 50-acre park for independent producers.

This park, planned for a site off Broadway, is intended to bring together the smaller companies which supply programmes for ITV and the BBC.

Ms Goodey said: "Much of the talent now resides in quite tiny independent producers.

"These are not huge companies and typically scratch around looking for very cheap premises. Unfortunately their very presence starts to force up property values. We recognised very early that Media City needs to be full and needs to be able to offer flexible and affordable premises.

Flexible

"Companies can't always afford to keep premises on when they are not in production. Peel have grasped that. They own a 50-acre area on a road called Broadway. It is perfect as a media park for the independent sector.

"If needs be, people can rent a single desk for one week. It is that flexible.

"This is not being subsidised by the public sector. Peel understand that they have to tailor their product to the market.

"It is not dissimilar to what they did with the Trafford Centre. Sitting next to Marks and Spencer and Selfridges there are little tiny independent operations that give the place character and vitality. It's that mix that draws the big crowds."