The government has intervened over planning proposals to build one of the UK’s biggest film and TV studio complexes.
Investment company Greystoke Land submitted plans to build sound stages, offices and workshops near the village of Holyport, near Maidenhead, in Berkshire, creating 1,500 jobs.
The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead refused to grant planning permission earlier this year, citing its impact on the greenbelt.
The company appealed to the planning inspectorate, with a planning inquiry scheduled for November, but the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government confirmed it had called in the decision.
The plans for Holyport Studios, announced in 2022, were for a complex extending over 43-hectares (106-acres) of land on Gay’s Lane, split into three areas.
The sound stages, workshops and offices would allow multiple film and TV productions to be shot on the same day and at the same time.
A “media village” would include a virtual reality studio offering CGI creation, augmented and virtual reality and gaming, while there would also be an area for open-air filming.
Councillors turned down the development which would be on green belt land.
Greystoke Land appealed to the government’s planning inspectorate, asking it to overturn the council’s decision.
The firm said the studios needed sufficient space and to be located near to other film industry sites in west London and the south east.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said it had recovered an appeal by Greystokes Land for film studios and associated works at Holyport in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead.
