Western Daily Press (Saturday)
Swindon could become West’s own ‘Tinseltown’
FILMMAKERS who have been involved in blockbusters such as Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves and Mel Gibson’s Hamlet want to make Swindon a centre of film production.
Screenwriter and director Sean Robinson and Tyrone Edwards, a producer, have formed their own company, Dignus Films, and they want to take over a hangar at Wroughton airfield to use as a soundstage studio.
The huge building, on the eastern side of the airfield, near the Swindon Karting hangar, is owned by the Science Museum Group and is approved for storage purposes.
But the museum is a part of the joint-applicant with Dignus films and it agrees there is no realistic prospect of the hangar being used for storage.
Instead Dignus wants to use it for making movies.
The application to planners at Swindon Borough Council says: “The aim will be to execute ten feature length films within a 12-year period utilising Hangar as the company’s main shooting stage. It also facilitates film sets, crew and tooling equipment within the adjacent workshops.”
The company tell planners making films at the hangar would benefit the local economy: “The proposed use will have a positive impact on the local supply chain with an estimated £60,000-£70,000 per production day being invested into the local and regional areas.”
One of the main issues of development at the airfield is access to it. The Devizes Road up to the site from Wroughton is a single-lane road and the lanes around the airfield are not very suitable for large vehicles or large amounts of traffic.
But the application says: “It is anticipated a maximum head count of up to 150 people on sight per shoot, utilising car-sharing and taxi services.”
It adds the company would seek to block book crew and casts into nearby hotels and run a shuttle service from the railway station.
Swindon Borough Council’s cabinet member for town centre culture and
heritage, Dale Heenan, said he hoped the plan would come off.
He said: “This collaboration with the Science Museum to create a film soundstage in a hangar sounds like an exciting opportunity that should be welcomed, and encouraged, by all of Swindon.
“Imagine feature length movies being shot in our town, not just landmarks for a snippet in Bond or a racetrack on Amazon’s The Grand Tour.”
The former Renault parts depot in Swindon was used in the 1984 Bond film