Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Area prime location for screen stars
Promoting North Lanarkshire as a location for more film and television productions is the aim of a new charter and code of practice produced by the area’s council.
In recent years the region has seen filming of the latest Batman movie, The Outlaw King and The Last Bus as well as TV programmes Vigil, Two Doors Down, Shetland and Scot Squad.
Thus far in 2021, filming has taken place in North Lanarkshire secondary schools, tower blocks, parks, business premises and a former court building.
North Lanarkshire is also known as the home of the popular TV show Outlander, with six seasons having been filmed at the Wardpark Studios in Cumbernauld and a seventh series planned.
The new North Lanarkshire Film Charter and Code of Practice will provide all the information and support necessary for film and television production companies looking for locations.
Councillor Allan Graham told the Advertiser: “The charter underlines the council’s commitment to encouraging film making in North Lanarkshire, which brings significant economic benefits for the area through jobs, contracts for local supply chain businesses and in-kind benefits.
“Lanarkshire is an attractive location for filming due to its mixture of urban and rural settings, central location and good transport links. And our film liaison office Lanarkshire Screen Locations provides an excellent service to companies.
“By setting out in our charter how the council can support film production, we hope to put North Lanarkshire on the map as an ideal location for film and television production.”
The Code of Practice details the requirements and expectations of each production filming in the area to minimise the impact of filming on residents, businesses, public services and communities while ensuring the industry can work in North Lanarkshire efficiently.
Film production can bring income and in-kind benefits to the council from filming in its premises and land.
For example, in 2018, the access road to Fannyside Loch at Palacerigg was resurfaced as part of the filming contract for a television programme.
In 2019 across Scotland, 90,000 people were employed in the YV and film production industry sector, with 4625 of them in North Lanarkshire.