UK film investors aim to revive studio plan amid push for growth

Published On : 08/30/2024

LONDON (Reuters) – Backers of a planned new major British film studio said on Thursday they would seek to revive the project in a case seen as a test of a broader push by the new government to prioritise economic growth.

Marlow Film Studios said it would appeal to a national planning body after the proposed new studio complex was rejected earlier this year by the county of Buckinghamshire, in London’s commuter belt.

“In spite of the Council’s decision to refuse our application, we remain confident of the strength of our case, and of the benefits that our investment will bring to the local community and the wider national economy,” it said.

The company, which is owned by four local business people and lists directors James Cameron, Sam Mendes and Paul Greengrass as its supporters, says the new studios would provide 4,000 jobs – half of them local to the area around Marlow, which is about 35 miles north of London.

Buckinghamshire county council rejected the plan in May, saying there was insufficient evidence to justify the studios being built on so-called greenbelt land which is intended to prevent urban sprawl into the countryside.

Shortly after the centre-left Labour Party won the July 4 parliamentary election, new finance minister Rachel Reeves said she wanted to change planning rules and would give new instructions to local authorities that sites in poor-quality parts of the greenbelt be considered for development.

Marlow Film Studios said the project would be built on a despoiled former landfill site.

A local campaign group opposed to the studios, Save Marlow’s Greenbelt, has said the site is not derelict and supports a valuable ecosystem, while its openness helps to protect the character of Marlow and surrounding villages.

In its decision in May, the council also noted the impact of increased traffic on local roads. Marlow Film Studios said it would invest in traffic infrastructure and public transport.

($1 = 0.7573 pounds)

(Writing by William Schomberg; Editing by Jan Harvey)

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