Duncan Heath

Source: Courtesy of ITG

Duncan Heath

The proposed construction of Medina Studios on the Isle of WIght, the island off of the south coast of England has received planning permission from the local council.

The proposed film and TV studios is the brainchild of co-chairman of the UK’s Independent Talent Group, Duncan Heath, plus David Godfrey, former director of international operations at Pinewood and Neil Blewett, director of film and TV communications technology company Datasat Media.

Under the plans, two stages, one office and two workshops will be built and ready to use for productions during 2025.

The trio is partnering with UK event and film construction specialist Serious Stages on the project, which has an estimated total cost of £20m. Serious Stages started out building stages for Glastonbury music festival and has also worked on builds for Longross Studios and the last two Mission Impossible projects.

The project’s proposals include four sound stages, with production support space including workshops and office facilities, plus 94,000 acres of backlot.

Planning permission has been granted, subject to the conditions of a construction environmental management plan; flood warning and evacuation plan; and a biodiversity mitigation and enhancement plan being approved.