Plans for film studio site under fire from all sides

Holyport: Residents, parish councillors and council officers decry application

Multi-million-pound plans for a film and TV studios in Holyport have been slammed by council officers over ‘significant’ negative impacts, ahead of a crunch meeting.

The Holyport Film Studios application, set for Green Belt land in Gays Lane, will be debated at a Maidenhead Development Management Committee meeting on

Wednesday.

The application has seen fierce opposition from residents and parish councillors over concerns including worsening traffic and loss of open space.

Developer Greystoke Land Ltd says the studios will provide an injection of £106 million into the Royal Borough’s economy and create more than 700 jobs.

But ahead of the meeting, objections have been reaffirmed in a report from council planning officers which has recommended the plans be refused.

In the report, planning officers said: “A significant number of harms have been identified during the planning assessment, namely in relation to greenbelt, character, heritage, highways, public rights of way, neighbouring amenity, ecology and loss of agricultural land.”

The report says Holyport Film Studios does not demonstrate special circumstances to permit construction on greenbelt land and therefore is considered ‘inappropriate’.

Greystoke Land Ltd plans to create a 16.9 acre ‘nature park’ to offset loss of green space and biodiversity which includes ponds for great crested newts, a protected species likely to be present at the site.

The park was considered in the officers’ report, however it advises ‘no weight’ was given to this aspect as biodiversity net gain is a requirement of national planning policy and not considered ‘special’.

It adds the studios’ location is ‘wholly unsustainable’ and would have an ‘unacceptable impact’ on highway safety, particularly for pedestrians and cyclists, and development would likely result in ‘permanent/irreversible loss’ of prime agricultural land.

Included in the proposals is a new roundabout access to the site from Forest Green Road, but officers argue this plan fails to establish ‘how this would be permissible’.

Scores of residents’ objections have also been submitted on the proposals.

A letter from one Holyport resident said: “The consequences of this ill-conceived plan will undoubtedly lead to severe disruptions on the surrounding roads, creating a nightmarish situation for local residents and commuters alike.”

Another letter said: “The amount of surface water runoff from such a development will be a major issue and cannot be understated.”

The officers report on Holyport Film Studios does note that the site lies in a flood risk zone and was impacted during flooding in January, however development is ‘not considered’ in conflict with planning policy.

The film studios proposals include construction of 15 stages, virtual reality and gaming facility, and a 2.9 acre backlot.

The developers say the site ‘presents a rare and fantastic opportunity to provide a brand-new, purpose-built studio within the Royal Borough and [will] help establish the borough as a leading centre of exceptional film and TV production.”

They say the proposals are a ‘product of methodical and meticulous planning, positioned to screen built form as much as possible and protect important features’.

W To view the plans in full, enter reference 22/03374/OUT into the RBWM planning portal.