Pinewood Studios plans £800m expansion to approved scheme

The studio used for the filming of the James Bond and Star Wars franchises has announced an £800m expansion to an already approved scheme.

Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire was granted planning permission in April for Screen Hub UK, which included a visitor attraction.

The studio has now submitted plans for an expanded scheme of 1.4m sq ft (130,064 sq m) and a nature reserve.

It said it would "help to address the shortage of studio space in the UK".

Films, TV series, adverts and music videos have been made at Pinewood Studios, close to Iver Heath, for more than 80 years - from Oliver Twist and the Carry On series, to sci-fi thriller Alien and several of the Marvel movies.

Screen Hub UK, the already approved £450m expansion to its current site, announced by the Pinewood Group in 2020, is due to include studio buildings, education and business growth hubs, known as Centre Stage, and the Pinewood Studios Experience, a film-inspired attraction.

A planning application has now been submitted to Buckinghamshire Council for an expanded scheme, located across two sites on land to the south of the studios - Pinewood South - and Alderbourne Farm to the north.

The Pinewood South scheme aims to deliver 20 purpose-built sound stages with workshops and offices on 82 acres of land.

It is claimed it will create more than 8,000 new jobs and add about £640m per year to the country's economy.

A nature reserve on 64 acres at Alderbourne Farm is proposed as part of the development. A new backlot and workshop complex based on the former farm buildings is also planned.

The studio said the revised scheme is a result of feedback from its customers, the wider industry and the community which pointed towards "increasing the amount of studio floorspace while retaining and committing to the delivery of Centre Stage".

It added that the proposals would bring the total number of purpose-built sound stages at Pinewood to 50, "maintaining the iconic studios' position at the heart of the British film industry".

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