High Wycombe: Plans for eight-stage film studios approved

Plans for new film studios in Buckinghamshire boasting eight stages have been approved.

Stage Fifty said the Wycombe Film Studios, near High Wycombe, would support 1,200 jobs and bring £305m to the area.

The project includes tree screening, green walls and special cladding to help it blend in with the landscape.

Buckinghamshire Council said the studios would be "a catalyst for economic growth".

The 26-acre site, just off the M40 next to Wycombe Air Park, was allocated as an employment area in Wycombe district's local plan in 2019.

The first sound stage had already been built under temporary planning approval to support a film shoot last year.

The original plan for the permanent studios was adjusted to take into account feedback from the neighbouring Claymoor Park estate.

Additional screening was added to the southeast and west of the site and the office rehearsal buildings will have green roofs.

Once fully operational, it will support about 750 full-time jobs and 450 indirect jobs, the company said, and it will offer traineeships and industry placements through its Academy of Creative and Technical Arts (ACTA).

Stage Fifty chief executive, James Enright, said: "Wycombe Film Studios will be a unique, creative space that works for everyone.

"Across our UK locations, we'll offer the industry over 20 sound stages supporting a combination of large, medium and small-budget films and HETV, from Hollywood blockbusters to independent film and television."

Martin Tett, leader of Buckinghamshire Council, said: "With its state-of-the-art facilities, the studios will be a hub of creativity - they'll also be a catalyst for economic growth in the area."

Work on the remaining seven stages and studio facilities are expected to be completed within 18 months.