The developers behind a multi-million-pound film studio proposed for construction on green belt land in Marlow have officially lodged an appeal against its refusal.
Marlow Film Studios, a £750 million, “state-of-the-art” filmmaking complex, was first proposed for land near the A404 on the outskirts of the town in 2021.
After gaining local notoriety for its ‘special circumstances’ argument, justifying the incursion onto protected land earmarked to prevent urban sprawl, the project was rejected by Buckinghamshire Council this May on primarily environmental and transport-related grounds.
The developers indicated at the end of last month that an appeal against the decision was imminent, and it was officially lodged on Saturday, September 14 – proposing that the case to overturn the council’s refusal be made through a public inquiry.
A spokesperson for the project said in August that it would be down to the Planning Inspectorate to determine the time and location of the inquiry and reaffirmed their “confidence in the strength of the case”, particularly relating to “the investment benefits (it would bring) to the local and national economy”.
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The brains behind the multi-million-pound proposal, which has been backed by Hollywood bigshots Richard Curtis and James Cameron, previously pledged to deliver “£3.2 billion in local growth investment over the first decade”, 4,000 new jobs and a “great strengthening of the UK’s position in the film and television sector”.
Joy Morrissey, the Conservative MP for Beaconsfield, warned in July that the Labour government’s overhaul of planning rules to build more homes and infrastructure could mean a U-turn on the Marlow Film Studios decision in prioritisation of potential economic growth over “local opinion”.
And a pivot from the refusal in May would appear to be at odds with the consensus view in Marlow – with local discontent spurring councillors to seek legal action after votes of no confidence and ‘libellous abuse’ in response to their perceived support for the plans in the spring.
Sam Kershaw, co-chair of the most prominent anti-film studio group in the area, Save Marlow’s Greenbelt, said he was “surprised” by the developers’ decision to appeal, “given the strength of the refusal by the council and their inability to mitigate the significant harm the studio would cause”.
Alongside green belt concerns, the council’s refusal of the development was informed by studies on the impact of new commuters on local highways, the effect on residents in a nearby mobile home park and its conflict with plans to create a new country park.
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