Marlow Film Studios: benefits 'clearly outweigh' harms as Government gives approval

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Marlow Film Studios has been approved for development by the Government, with a decision saying the harms were ‘clearly outweighed’ by the benefits.

The multi-million-pound studio plans will see new sound stages, workshops and backlots built on green belt land next to the A404 in Little Marlow.

Today’s decision, seen as the final chapter for the Marlow Film Studio saga, was made following a public inquiry in January after Buckinghamshire Council refused the plans.  

Buckinghamshire Council rejected the proposals at a marathon meeting in mid-2024, but developer Dido Property Limited appealed the decision to the Government Planning Inspectorate.

Marlow Film Studios’ chief executive officer Robert Laycock said the Government’s move was ‘very welcome news’ and ‘a meaningful decision for anyone who believes in the UK’s future’.

Mr Laycock added: “For Buckinghamshire, this is a powerful vote of confidence in the coming generations.”

But the decision has been met with dismay by Buckinghamshire Council, Beaconsfield MP Joy Morrisey and anti-Marlow film studios campaign group Save Marlow’s Greenbelt.

Cllr Peter Strachan, council cabinet member for planning, said ‘we are incredibly disappointed that the significant concerns raised… have not been upheld’.

Mrs Morrisey said she was ‘deeply disappointed and angered’ by the move which ‘sets a worrying precedent for the future’.

Debate over the benefits of Marlow Film Studios raged at a public inquiry earlier this year, where legal representatives for the council, developer, and campaign groups locked horns.

Questions of what constituted greenbelt and whether there was an economic ‘need’ for the scheme were thrashed out over two weeks.

Secretary of state Steve Reed’s decision, made following an inspector’s report from the inquiry, said there were ‘very special circumstances’ which weighed in Marlow Film Studios’ favour.

Former Labour Deputy PM Angela Rayner had been set to add her name to the credits of the film studios saga, but, following her resignation in September, that call has now been made by Mr Reed.

A report on the decision said there was ‘potential harm to the greenbelt through inappropriateness, harm to purposes, harm to openness’.

But added it ‘is clearly outweighed by other considerations and therefore there are VSCs [very special circumstances] which would justify this development in the greenbelt’.

Monetary benefits of the film studios had ‘very substantial weight’ in the decision, the report said, and would include more than 2,000 new jobs and a £249million boost to the UK economy.

The report said that the scheme’s ‘commitments to upskill, offer jobs to local people’ and ‘seek job creation’ were ‘considerable’ benefits.

It added, this would help the West London Film Cluster - the UK’s prime film-making real estate - keep ‘its international competitiveness and attractiveness to global investors’.

Marlow Film Studios has enjoyed the backing of Hollywood director James Cameron (Titanic and Avatar), as well as British Academy of Film, TV and Arts (BAFTA) representatives.

Mr Laycock said: “The decision is clear in its assessment that Marlow Studios will attract global investment, help the UK maintain its competitive creative edge, and will strengthen the West London film cluster.”

Marlow Film Studios has proved unpopular with some Marlow residents, who gave a resounding vote of no-confidence in their Town Council in 2024 over its handling of the application.

Campaign group Save Marlow’s Greenbelt have also long-fought proposals, which were first submitted as a full application to the council in 2022.

A spokesperson for the group said it maintained that ‘the development will cause significant and lasting harm to the environment, the local community, and the landscape’.

The spokesperson added that while the decision 'marks the end of a long campaign,' campaigners would 'continue to defend Marlow’s greenbelt against inappropriate development'.