Green light given for major film studio near Reading

Over the last year there has been a lot of negative news in respect of the film production industry, just one of many industries hit extremely hard by the worldwide coronavirus pandemic. However, we are extremely excited that the tide is now turning. We are now only days away from the first round of changes to the lockdown rules in England and only a couple of months away from all lockdown measures being relaxed, the excitement of this prospect can be felt near and wide.

With the above in mind, it isn’t surprising that film production news has taken a more positive turn over the last couple of weeks. Over recent days it has been announced that planning permission has been granted for a film studio with four workshops and stages in Thames Valley Science Park. Planning was applied for by Shinfield Studios, but the really exciting news is that they have already been approached by major US production companies wishing to use the studio space. There is a catch to the planning permission approval; the studio must be removed in 2026 and “restored to its former condition”.

Whilst permission for the much-needed studio space is only for a limited period, there is no doubt such premises will benefit the industry bringing more production projects to the UK. The managing director of Shinfield Studios, Nick Smith, has stated “A typical production will spend £80 million to £100 million over a nine to 12 month period and up to £10 million in any month – a significant proportion of this will be spent locally”. It will be exciting to see how this progresses.