Producers lodge plans for country’s biggest film studio facility

The campus on a 56-acre site in south Dublin will include 11 sound stages and workshop spaces across 800,000 sq ft

Plans have been lodged with South Dublin County Council for what will be the country’s largest film studio campus, Dublin Fields.

Dublin-based company Lens Media Ltd is seeking a 10-year planning permission for the construction of Dublin Fields Media Park which is to include six sound-stage buildings with 11 internal sound stages, along with ancillary offices at Grange Castle Business Park, Co Dublin.

The scheme will also include four workshop buildings along with a television studio and reception building which will include three television studios.

Dublin Fields will include VIP and guest services along with a two-storey dining hall and an ancillary 100seat theatre.

Lens Media is backed by Irish producer Alan Moloney, known for films The Siege of Jadotville and Brooklyn, and Oscar-nominated American producer Gary Levinsohn, best known for Saving Private Ryan.

A spokeswoman for Lens Media said that a formal planning application has been submitted for Dublin Fields, “a full-service media park, over a 56-acre site in Grange Castle Business Park in south Dublin”.

“Comprising 11 sound stages, three live audience studios, offices, workshop spaces and ancillary supports in excess of 800,000 sq ft, this planned facility will be unique on the island of Ireland in terms of its scale, spec and location, and amongst the premier film, television and entertainment production facilities in Europe,” she said.

“Subject to planning permission, it will more than double the current soundstage offering in Ireland, acting as a catalyst for the indigenous screen industry and catering for growing, unmet production needs. Once fully operational, it will directly support in the region of 2,800 jobs and over 2,100 indirectly.”

The proposed design will deliver a low-carbon building, she said.

“Sustainability strategies will be applied throughout the campus,” she said. “We await the outcome of the planning process.”

The project has been in the works for a number of years. In June 2021, South Dublin County Council (SDCC) approved the sale of 56 acres of the park’s land in order to advance the ambitious plan.

Lens Media initially purchased 48 acres from SDCC to develop the studio in May 2020 for €26.4m. They paid an additional €1.1m for another eight acres a year later.

The project was held up in a High Court legal dispute in May 2022 after an injunction was secured preventing Lens Media from taking steps to complete the land purchase.

However, the Commercial Court was told in May of last year that the dispute over the land purchase had been resolved. A new shareholder agreement was also finalised in May 2023.

The promoters will look to take advantage of the Government’s recent move to increase the film budget cap from €70m to €125m where, under Section 481 of Irish tax law, corporations behind film or TV productions can claim 32pc of their budget as a tax credit.