Pinewood Studios submits application for expansion

The studio, which has played host to a number of productions, including the Harry Potter films, has submitted a 3,000 page final application for Project Pinewood, a new living and working community for the creative industry, to the South Buckinghamshire District Council.

The scheme will include permanent lots designed to replicate European and American locations. The lots will include a Parisian square, a Venetian canal and the brownstones of NewYork.

The company aims to reduce the cost of film and television production by providing all facilities in one location and by reducing the need for productions to travel overseas.

David Wight, head of group property at The Pinewood Studios Group, said: “This will be a completely new opportunity for the creative industries to set film and TV productions in new locations without the carbon cost and the financial cost of travelling abroad.”

The studio hopes to attract the gaming industry as well as film-makers and the TV industry.

The expansion is also set to include a Screen Crafts Academy for training in the skills required by the screen industries, such as carpentry, and wig and model making. The Acadmeny will be run by the National Film and Television School, in conjunction with Skillset.

Andrew Smith, group director corporate affairs, said that the expansion would also see the creation of 630 full-time jobs, increasing to 960 by 2022. Up to 550 additional jobs could be created during the construction period.

Pinewood has paid for the cost of the process up to the point of the application, however once a decision is issued, the company will be inviting partners to invest in the development of the project. The company currently has a joint venture with Aviva Investors to develop the Shepperton Studios.

The council generally takes 16 weeks from the registration of the application to issue a decision, however, given the volume of documents submitted the process may take longer.

Wight said: “The scheme will take ten years from spade in the ground to completion. Subject to the success of the application, building is due to start in 2012.”