Peg Alexander, the director of Bradford City of Film, has described the news that the Government is abolishing the UK Film Council as a “great shock for the film community”.

Forthcoming films backed by the UK Film Council (UKFC) include Wuthering Heights and The King’s Speech were partly shot in Bradford. Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt announced the decision to scrap the UKFC as part of cost-cutting measures by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Mr Hunt said: “Many of these bodies were set up a considerable length of time ago, and times and demands have changed.”

Chairman of the UKFC Tim Bevan described the announcement as a ‘big mistake’. “Abolishing the most successful film support organisation the UK has ever had is a bad decision, imposed without any consultation or evaluation,” he said.

“People will rightly look back on today’s announcement and say it was a big mistake, driven by short-term thinking and political expediency.”

Director of Bradford City of Film Peg Alexander said: “We don’t get anything direct from the UK Film Council but we work closely with Screen Yorkshire, which was set up by the Film Council.

“I hope that whatever comes out of this won’t affect regional film-making, and its significant economic and cultural contribution, too much.”

Since its creation in 2000, the UKFC has invested £160 million of Lottery funding into more than 900 films. The King’s Speech, due for release this year, was partly filmed at Bradford’s Odsal Stadium.

Starring Colin Firth, Michael Gambon, Derek Jacobi and Helena Bonham Carter, it is about the unorthodox relationship between King George VI, plagued by a nervous stammer, and the Australian speech therapist who cured him.

A new big-screen version of Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights, starring Gemma Arterton, is expected to be filmed in the region. And another UKFC-backed film Tyrannosaur, the directorial debut of actor Paddy Considine, was filmed in Leeds.