Developers of UK’s Marlow Film Studios to appeal planning permission rejection

Developers of the UK’s Marlow Film Studios are planning to appeal the rejection of planning permission of the £750m project, which counts Sam Mendes, Pippa Harris, James Cameron and Paul Greengrass among its backers, with the team behind the studios “confident of the strength of our case”.

The plans for the studios, spearheaded by Robert Laycock, chief executive of Marlow Film Studios, were rejected in the wake of a campaign from Marlow residents, with local businesses displaying posters criticising the development.

The council rejected the project due to concerns over the impact on the local road network and the use of greenbelt land for development.

The studios claims it will create 4,000 jobs, including 2,000 to the local economy, and provide a boost of £3.2bn in growth investment in the local area over the first decade.

The proposals were for a 36-hectare plot built upon a former landfill site.

A statement from Marlow Film Studios said it “intends to submit an appeal to the Planning Inspectorate, in response to the decision by the Buckinghamshire Council Strategic Sites Committee decision to turn down its application in May this year. The Statement of Case appeal submission will include a request for a public inquiry.”

It continued: “We will be investing in vital local traffic infrastructure and sustainable public transport and will provide significant improvements to the local community. The studio campus will provide the British film industry and international production companies with the highest quality of advanced, tailor-made facilities that they are now demanding, helping keep the UK in the forefront of global competition.”

Further industry figures who voiced their support for the project included Andy Serkis; producer Gareth Ellis-Unwin; former BFI CEO Amanda Nevill; American Film Institute chair Howard Stringer; and CEO of global drama at Fremantle, Christian Vesper.

Buckinghamshire is already home to Pinewood Studios, which was approved for an extension last this year, as well as Wycombe Film Studios which is in the midst of development.

Laycock, the mind behind the project, is the grandson of Brief Encounter star Celia Johnson, the son of Lucy Fleming, star of British TV series The Avengers, and great-nephew of James Bond author Ian Fleming. He is currently listed as an executive producer on Johan Renck’s adaptation of The Magus, produced by Pippa Harris and Sam Mendes’ Neal Street Productions. 

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