Plans for the UK’s largest ever film studio featuring one million square feet of studio space have been submitted for approval.
Property consultancy Bidwells has put in the application to Hertsmere Borough Council in Hertfordshire for the complex that will include 21 stages and an extra 600,000 square feet of commercial space, across a total of 90 acres. The facility, called Hertswood Studios, will be built next to Sky’s £190m studio complex currently being built by Bam Construct if the proposals are approved.
Studio construction is a growth area currently with schemes also in development in Enfield and Dagenham in London, as well as Reading in Berkshire, while Laing O’Rourke is on site delivering a studio project at the former Littlewoods headquarters in Liverpool. International film and high-end television production spend in the UK topped £2.34bn in 2020, despite the initial impact of COVID-19, according to the British Film Commission.
In a letter to the local council, the DIT has said that the proposals “would be warmly welcomed, not at least as Hertsmere has such a rich heritage for film and HETV (High-End TV) production”.
The proposed development, coupled with the neighbouring Sky scheme already being built, will create a film and digital hub to rival anything in the world.
A map of the proposed Hertswood Studios site that has been put forward as a potential site for employment in Hertsmere.
- Credit: Bidwells
Plans for the state-of-the-art complex have been submitted for inclusion in Hertsmere Borough Council’s new Local Plan.