Appeal after RBWM refuses Holyport film studios plan

Councillors refused to grant planning permission to build the studios on Gays Lane near the village of Holyport in March this year. But developers say ‘very special circumstances’ – namely the need for studio space and the economic boost it would bring – mean it should be allowed.

Property consultants Montagu Evans said: “The overwhelming need for purpose-built film studio space, coupled with the vast direct and spin-off economic benefits is so clear and compelling as to constitute ‘very special circumstances’.”

Investment company Greystoke Land applied for permission to build the huge studio complex on both sides of Gays Lane in 2022. The plans included sound stages, workshops, offices, footpaths, a multi-storey car park, a ‘backlot’ filming area, a new roundabout, and a ‘media village’ for post-production.

The developer says this would create about 1,400 full-time jobs and contribute to the Royal Borough’s local economy, as well as to UK film and television production.

Some 17 hectares of land would also have been earmarked for a public nature park and cricket ground.

The layout of the proposed film and TV studio (Image: Greystoke Land)

But councillors at the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead Council (RBWM) refused to grant the studios planning permission when they voted on the scheme at a meeting in March this year. The councillors agreed with their planning officers who said the development would be inappropriate on the green belt.

Officers said the film studios were ‘simply not needed’ as the Royal Borough’s own plan for development already supported aspirations for economic growth.

The officers said: “The proposed development is inappropriate development within the Green Belt which is harmful by definition. The proposed development would have a substantial adverse effect on Green Belt openness.”

They added: “The Very Special Circumstances necessary to justify the proposed development do not exist.”

But now Greystoke is asking the government’s planning inspecorate to overturn the council’s decision. It argues that the council ‘exaggerated’ the harm that would be done to the Green Belt.

And it accuses the council of ‘failing to engage with the evidence’ supporting the need for a film studio and of ‘dismissing the identified benefits'.

In an argument on behalf of Greystoke, Montagu Evans said: “In the context of the current economy of the UK, this is exactly the type of development that the current and future governments will encourage to boost the national and local economy.”

The firm says the studios – which would be ‘the third largest film studio in the country’ – need sufficient space, and also need to be located near to other film industry sites in west London and the south east.

RBWM has until August 27 to submit its case in writing to the inspectorate. An appeal hearing is set to take place from November 12.