Pinewood Studios Expansion Plans

[Paul MacLean]

Sounds interesting...

http://www.variety.com/article/VR111797 ... 1&nid=3078

Pinewood unveils expansion plan
Studio would almost double in size
By ARCHIE THOMAS

LONDON — Pinewood Shepperton unveiled an ambitious plan Thursday that would see the historic studios roughly double in size.
Under Project Pinewood, as the enterprise has been codenamed, the studios would expand onto 105 acres of adjacent land to create a new film and TV community. This would include both business and residential properties.

The new site would contain permanent working sets of streetscapes and zones replicating locations across Europe and the U.S. These would include an amphitheater, a castle, a Venetian canal, an Italian lakeside, and street scenes from London, Paris, New York and Los Angeles.

Locations have been chosen that would help the company to continue to attract big budget U.S. studio projects and to allow local filmmakers the opportunity to shoot the world from home.

The residential part of the development would contain up to 2,250 homes. These would not be exclusively for creative industryites but Pinewood brass hope easy access to the locations should attract folk from the entertainment biz.

“The principle of 'live-work' environments works very well,” Ivan Dunleavy, chief exec, Pinewood Shepperton, told Daily Variety, pointing to the success of California’s Silicon Valley and London’s financial services hub in Canary Wharf as inspirations for Project Pinewood.

How to fund the ambitious project has not yet been addressed as the venture is dependent on gaining appropriate planning permission, which may prove long-winded as proposed site is designated as "green belt," a term denoting countryside protected from urban encroachment.

Dunleavy envisages the planning process will take between 18 and 24 months but is hopeful permission will be granted as the development addresses the housing shortage problem in the area and U.K. in general. He stresses it is “in the national interest as it shows a positive response to government policies.”

No public funding is being sought for Project Pinewood. The studios group has footed the bill for the scoping of the scheme. Dunleavy declined to put a figure on what the project may cost, noting that “the component parts may vary.”

“I think this is a tremendous project, especially for people who don’t want to spend most of their lives in Eastern Europe,” commented Brit scribe-helmer Richard Curtis. “The practical benefits for film and television makers could be enormous, creating movies in one place — not several locations — and being right next to all the best film facilities.”