A proposed multi-million-pound film studio in a Buckinghamshire village could worsen the impact of heavy flooding on nearby residents, according to a local environmental group.

Rising river levels caused by Storm Henk have caused flooding chaos across the region over the last week, with Thames-side Marlow and Bourne End bearing the brunt of the impact and flood warnings still active in both areas as of 12:55 today (January 10).

Low-lying ground and areas prone to groundwater flooding remain especially waterlogged, and while some residents are continuing to employ flood defences in case of further rainfall, others are contemplating how similarly extreme weather might fare should a certain controversial development project be given the go-ahead later this year. 

Although the Environment Agency and the Lead Local Flood Authority (LLFA) respectively offered no objection on flooding grounds to the Marlow Film Studios planning proposal, environmental campaigners in the town are questioning the suitability of the development, proposed for construction on a floodplain in the village of Little Marlow.

Speaking on behalf of the campaign group Save Marlow's Greenbelt, Verity West told the Free Press that green space, including that of the proposed film studio site, "provides an important role in acting like a sponge" for floodwater, helping to offset the impact on nearby homes.

Verity added: “When floodplains, native vegetation and trees are removed through development, the flood water just gets moved to somewhere else. The site of the proposed film studio development in the Little Marlow Lakes area is currently absolutely waterlogged with visible surface puddling, but it is doing exactly what it should be in managing the floodwater.

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“If this 90-acre site is lost through inappropriate development, all the future excess water, which we know there will be due to climate change, will put local residential properties in the immediate area and further downstream at Bourne End at a much higher risk.”

In May 2023, Buckinghamshire Council, acting as LLFA, stated that it had "no objection" to the Marlow Film Studios project on the condition that infrastructure including a surface water drainage system be implemented if planning approval is granted.

The Environment Agency also withdrew its previous objections to the application in October 2023 after developers supplied plans for sustainable drainage systems onsite and demonstrated that a risk of pollution from the nearby A404 could be adequately mitigated. 

Robert Laycock, CEO of Marlow Film Studios, said:  “The plans for Marlow Film Studios include a full and comprehensive package of groundwater, retention and flood risk measures that robustly deal with this issue. The specialists at the Environment Agency and Buckinghamshire Council, the Lead Local Flood Authority, are content with these plans and the site of the proposed studios has not flooded, even in the face of these recent exceptional weather conditions.  

“We look forward to continuing to work with the local community to bring forward our plans to transform this former waste disposal site into a new home for British film-making with over 4,000 new jobs, new skills and training opportunities, upgrades to local transport, and a 20 per cent uplift in wildlife habitat.”

In October, members of Buckinghamshire Council's Strategic Sites Committee voted to defer a deciding vote on the Marlow Film Studios application until March 2024 to allow for further analysis of the development's projected impact on its surrounding environment.