Britain’s Rise as a New Hollywood: Construction of Film Studios Backed by Labor Encounters Opposition from Local Residents Concerned about Community and Environment Impact.

Film studio space in the UK has nearly doubled in the past three years and is developing so quickly Britain will be only second globally to Hollywood by the end of 2025, government figures predict.

In an aim to make Britain the ‘new Hollywood’ Labour has pulled rank and are now in the process of reviewing two proposals that were blocked by local councils as it seeks to reduce planning bureaucracy for major projects.

It comes after the Prime Minister Keir Starmer promised to overhaul the planning system and back ‘the builders, not the blockers.’ 

The UK is already home to a host of major film studios with illustrious histories including Pinewood Studios, Elstree Studios and Warner Bros Studios Leavesden, to name a few.

Some of the biggest film franchises have used these studios with experts saying the UK has a track record of attracting the ‘world’s top talent both in front of and behind the camera’.

Elstree Studios is home to the George Lucas Stage famous for its Star Wars films, while Pinewood boasts the 007 Stage, which has been used for many of the James Bond movies.

Film and entertainment giants Warner Bros Studios own Leavesden Studios where each of the eight Harry Potter movies were filmed.

These iconic movies has seen the UK become a leading figure in the industry and it appears the new Labour government are keen to add the nation’s film studio portfolio.

A number of film studios have already been given the green light to begin construction including a £450m Crown Works Studios development in Sunderland, a £3 million studio in Hull led by Northern Films and Television and a £6m complex in Stirling, that is planned to be one of the largest in Scotland.

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has also ‘called in’ two proposals that had been rejected by local councils as a public inquiry into the plans for the Holyport Film Studios, near Maidenhead in Berkshire, finished on Wednesday.

Ms Rayner, who also holds the position of the Secretary of State for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, will now have the final say on the proposal.

The government was recently forced to deny claims that it plans to ‘concrete over the countryside’ with its ambitious projects.

The deputy Prime Minister rejected suggestions Britain is ‘too crowded’ or that there is ‘no countryside left’, saying: ‘The vast majority of England is still very green and will remain so.’

As part of the Spring budget, the former Tory government announced a tax relief of 53% for independent films with a budget of less than £15 million, with filmmakers citing this as a ‘game-changer’ in ‘attracting more investment than ever before from international studios’.

However, hundreds of residents in the quaint Holyport, had objected to the film studio, which if built, would be one UK’s biggest film and TV studio complexes covering 106 acres of land on Gay’s Lane.

Concerns have been raised over the number of film studios already in close proximity to the village as well as possibility of undermining the local decision already made.

Andy Smith, spokesman for Berkshire branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England said: ‘We hope that the government will decide to leave this decision in the hands of the local community and not seek to impose an unwanted and inappropriate development on Green Belt land, over the heads of local people and their elected representatives.’ 

Mrs Beavans, 64, who regularly walks her dog on the proposed site, said: ‘It will have a big impact, most of the people that live here have been living here for years and they are quite stayed in their ways. They don’t like change. 

‘How many film studios do you need in one sort of area?’

One local resident, who did not want to give her name, said: ‘It’s going to kill all our wildlife. It can’t go ahead. It’s in the wrong place. I don’t know how it has gone this far.’

Landlord of local pub The George on the Green Jonh Sennett said it will ‘destroy the village’.

He said: ‘I don’t think a lot of people knows what it will mean for the area. It’s three football pitches of so called studios. It’s going to be huge.’

One 45-year-old dog walker, who lives next to the site, said: ‘It would be devastating. It is a very peaceful, old and traditional village. If you then put in a massive film studio it is just going to change the area forever.  

‘This is a community village and you can’t hide it, it is going to overpower everything. It seems bizarre you can have this many film studios in such a small area.

‘Angela Rayner is ultimately deciding, so it feels like it is the luck of the draw sadly. It is completely inappropriate.’ 

Holyport Studios say that ‘significant growth’ in UK investment for Film & TV production is ‘driving up considerable demand for studio space’. 

‘This has led to an acute shortage of studio space, suitable for producing high-end content in the South East, particularly West London,’ the studio added in a statement on their website.

The studio would create 1,500 local jobs and 1,800 jobs through construction and attract up to £200 million of annual production spend, developers Greystoke Land say.

A spokesperson for Greystoke Land said: ‘Holyport Studios will provide a major boost to the UK’s world-leading film and television industry. It will drive more than £2 billion of economic activity over the next ten years. 

‘The state-of-the-art studios will support thousands of jobs, provide a generous new public park and increase biodiversity.’

Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead councillor Adam Bermange told the Slough Observer that the council ‘stands by’ its decision to refuse permission for the studios.

It is one of two proposals that Ms Rayner has called in to determine after Buckinghamshire County Council refused plans submitted by Dido Property in May for a film studio spanning 56 acres of former quarry site by the A404 in Marlow. 

The public inquiry into the Marlow Film Studio will begin on January 21 with locals expecting Ms Rayner to make a decision on both studios following its conclusion.

In a letter sent to council from the planning inspectorate, its says Ms Rayner’s decision to have the final say is due to the development’s ‘major importance’ that is ‘more than local significance’, the Bucks Free Press reported.

It added that the decision was also made due to the complexity in ‘raising important or novel issues of development control on the greenbelt’. 

Plans for the Buckinghamshire-based studios is backed by Robert Laycok, who is the grandson of Oscar-nominated actress Dame Celia Johnson, star of iconic British classic ‘Brief Encounter’, which was filmed in Buckinghamshire in 1945, and son of television and film actress Lucy Fleming.

He is also the great-nephew of the late James Bond author Ian Fleming.

Mr Laycock believes the UK Film and TV Sector has a ‘great future but needs more purpose-built, high technology studios to meet international demand’. 

He said: ‘Film and TV is something the Brits lead the world on. This week we have Wicked, Gladiator and The Day of the Jackal to name just a few.  

‘But we have to build on this this position through investment in talent, infrastructure and training.

‘2024 is tracking to be the third highest investment year of all time into British Film and TV shows. 

‘We must keep up with quality working space to deliver for our growing global audiences.’

Marlow Film Studios has said the studios would provide 4,000 jobs – half of them local to the town, about 35 miles northwest of London. It argues that loud opposition has drowned out the quiet support of many locals. 

However, Buckinghamshire Council have raised concerns that calling in the decision means local opinion won’t be reflected in the final outcome.

Peter Strachan, the council’s cabinet member for planning and regeneration, said: ‘The original decision was refused for a number of reasons relating to the impact on the green belt, country park, the local environment, residents’ amenities and the severe impact on the highway network and safety.

‘We expect the forthcoming planning inquiry to reveal that the economic benefits would be negligible,’ Save Marlow’s Greenbelt, local campaign group opposed to the project, said. 

‘We hope that (Deputy Prime Minister) Angela Rayner will decide that this is not a good use of greenbelt land as it will do nothing to generate growth or fix the housing crisis.’ 

Tory MP Joy Morrisey added that she is ‘surprised and disappointed’ by the plans potentially moving forward.

She said: ‘Labour’s intention to inappropriately designate swathes of Green Belt as ‘Grey Belt’ has emboldened developers.’

Marlow resident Martin Braint said it is ‘very clear’ there is ‘absolutely no need’ for the studio.

‘Shinfield is only 10 per cent full, Pinewood are not carrying out their extension, and the huge Sunset Studios development is on hold after they have spent over £100 million on the ground work,’ he said.

‘So why are they calling them in? Who knows, purely a political gesture that has nothing to do with economic need or social benefit.’

The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) said the ‘decision to recover an appeal is not an indication of a view on the merits of the proposals in question’.

A spokesperson added: ‘It would not be appropriate for Ministers or officials of MHCLG to comment on the appeals, or the act of recovery, due to their decision-making role.’

Adrian Wootton OBE, chief executive of the British Film Commission, said the UK is the ‘leading global centre for film and TV production’ and believes the tax relief introduced earlier this year will ‘attract more investment than ever’. 

He said: ‘UK Film and TV is globally admired and a key sector driving economic growth because of our critical mass of amazing talent, studio infrastructure, technology, competitive fiscal incentives and diverse locations

‘This encompasses our world-class crew base, our increased UK-wide stage space offer and our range of cutting edge facilities and diverse locations across the UK’s nations and regions, coupled with our generous tax credits which have once again been enhanced, including the new Independent Film Tax Credit. 

‘The new credit really will be a game-changer, attracting more investment than ever before from international studios for UK-made indie films, and stimulating international co-productions.’

Holyport and Marlow are both in close proximity to London making them prime locations for studio developers that need vast space as well as the film makers due to the easy access into the capital.

Chris Berry, director at property consultancy Lambert Smith Hampton, described London as ‘the only genuine global production hub outside of North America’. 

He said: ‘It is a truly global and crucially, English speaking city with significant track record in the sector and the ability to attract the world’s top talent both in front of and behind the camera.

‘Having been at the forefront of the global production industry for decades, the UK has an established talented and skilled crew base, supply chain and infrastructure.

‘Other than the UK and North America, the standard approach is to partner with a local production services company who then source the majority of crew and supply chain to service the project. 

‘The model here and in the US is based on all crew being employed direct by the production. 

‘This is a key demonstration of the familiarity and confidence with which productions view the UK.’