The national body replacing Screen WM has moved to smooth a threatened east-west divide over support for film and digital firms following an attack launched from the East Midlands.

The chairman of Creative England, which will have regional branches in Birmingham, Manchester and Bristol, has responded to concerns within the film sector that support would be “skewed” towards the west of the country, including from East Midland screen agency EM Media.

Creative England will replace screen agencies like Screen WM and EM Media, which invest public money in supporting film production and digital firms outside London.

The body is now set to recruit staff for the three hubs ahead of its opening in October.

But Birmingham-based Screen WM’s chief executive Suzie Norton has ruled herself out of the process, saying she would not be seeking a role in the new national structure.

Ms Norton is stepping down after three-and-a-half years and Screen WM is now being driven by its senior management team, which will remain in place at the agency during the transition to Creative England.

The process of setting up Creative England has become politicised after a consultation attracted criticism for the decision to site the hubs in cities in the west of the country.

The East Midland agency EM Media, which has coinvested in films like Control and This Is England, accused Creative England of a “glaring omission” in its choice of Birmingham, Bristol and Manchester as hubs for the new body.

It wrote: “Creative England has created an unhelpful and unnecessary east-west divide which if allowed to continue, will have a damaging effect on wider territory relationships.

“We recommend in the strongest terms that Creative England rethinks this decision as a matter of urgency, to promote a fairer treatment and regard for the country as a whole and in order to become a more credible representative of the sector, England-wide.”

It added that EM Media had achieved more feature film investment successes than the screen agencies based in Manchester, Birmingham and Bristol put together.

Creative England chairman John Newbigin said the decision to locate hub offices in Birmingham, Bristol and Manchester was taken last year by regional screen agency representatives together.