Studios plan is ‘missing detail’
Marlow: Campaigners cast doubt on developer's proposal
Campaigners for Marlow’s greenbelt have called on the company seeking to build film studios in Little Marlow to put more meat on the bones of their planning documents.
A whopping 3,580 documents and counting have been added to the council’s planning portal – but Save Marlow’s Greenbelt (SMGB) has concerns over a perceived lack of detail.
In particular, they are concerned that National Highways has had to repeatedly chase the applicants, Dido Property Limited, for information that would allow it to make a traffic assessment.
Specifically, National Highways wants modelling data on the impact on the A404.
Sam Kershaw, member of the group and a parish councillor for Little Marlow Parish Council, said he thought it would be very difficult for Buckinghamshire council to make a determination without this.
“Presumably they [Dido] have this information so we’re puzzled as to why they’re refusing to share this with National Highways,” he said.
“We suspect it’s because the model they’re showing reflects quite a benign portrait.
“The expectation is there will be a huge increase in traffic.”
Further, Cllr Kershaw and fellow SMGB members are concerned that the educational summit on training opportunities for young people might have painted an unrealistically rosy picture of what opportunities will be created by the new studio, should it be approved.
The summit took place in March and welcomed key figures from several disciplines – given the studio ‘is set to provide 4,180 new jobs, half of which will be in filmmaking.’
Speakers included John Browning from Buckinghamshire Business First, the manager of the Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP),
which sets out the Department for Education’s blueprint for Bucks.
He said that the film industry was ‘a crucial part of the plan’, to reshape the technical skills system to better meet the needs of employers and the economy.
Meanwhile, Jenny Craig, principal and CEO of Buckinghamshire College Group, advocated for the 400 students graduating from the college’s creative industries courses every single year.
But Cllr Kershaw said what was suggested at the summit ‘looks very grand’ yet is missing detail.
“People are very excited about the prospect of their children going on courses,” he said. “But in reality we don’t know how many of these places will be given to local people.
“We also don’t know the actual scope of the training. What specifically will they be providing?” he said.
Moreover, he expressed doubts over the number of training staff.
“There aren’t enough staff to provide for all the studios being built,” he said. “Fortyfive are being planned at the moment in the UK.
“There’s a worry they’ll built it and there won’t be anyone to work there. I don’t think the amount [of people] they will train will make a huge dent in that.”
Cllr Kershaw would like to see some forecast of the number of local people (rather than total people) expected to be employed by the studio.
Another concern is the flood risk. Cllr Kershaw said Bucks council’s agency looked at the MFS report and concluded that it had been done during a drought.
As such, it would not be sufficient to determine if the land is insulated against flooding problems, said Cllr Kershaw.
All in all, the ‘promises don’t stack up,’ he said.
“It’s a question of trust and we’re very mistrustful as to what they’re saying,” he said.
A Marlow Film Studios spokesperson stressed that the planning process will rely on ‘a transparent evidence base’ and an ‘extremely thorough’ consultation which ‘will provide fair scrutiny.’
“We completely hear the concerns of some of those who live close to the site, which may lead to public speculation,” said the spokesperson.
“But as has been our policy throughout the process, our door is always open to anyone who would like to discuss our planning application.”
Marlow Film Studios’ planning application with Bucks council is under reference 22/06443/FULEA and is due to be determined in the coming months.