Chancellor confirms £25m for landmark film studios

Chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed £25m will be invested in the film studios on the banks of the River Wear

Millions of pounds of investment in a new film studio has been confirmed by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in the Autumn Statement.

The £450m Crown Works Studios development is to be built in Sunderland and is expected to create thousands of jobs in the creative industries.

North East Mayor Kim McGuinness said the investment would unlock 8,000 jobs in the region and "build a creative powerhouse on the banks of the River Wear".

But others pointed out the £25m of funding had been previously announced in the last Conservative government's "trailblazer" devolution deal.

McGuinness said the money meant "jobs for people in a range of industries, from hairdressers, electricians, make-up artists, to set designers and script writers".

The investment was originally announced in March, before the Labour government came into power and before McGuinness was elected North East Mayor.

'Nothing new'

Paul Edgeworth, Liberal Democrat councillor for Sunderland City Council, said the chancellor was taking credit for funding that had already been announced.

"It seems like this is nothing more than Rachel Reeves trying to pull the wool over local people's eyes and claim credit for funding which had already been agreed," he said.

"Once you scratch the surface of this Budget, you see that this government is offering nothing new for jobs and regeneration in Sunderland."

However, Sunderland MP Lewis Atkinson took to social media to claim the confirmation was important as it meant the funding had been properly budgeted by the chancellor.

The Budget also set out plans to grant the North East Combined Authority (NECA) an integrated settlement deal, which provides it with a single flexible pot of money.

The integrated settlement will be available from 2026-27 and will give McGuinness more freedom over how to spend NECA's money.

McGuinness described the Budget as the "biggest transfer of powers and resources from Westminster to the North East in a generation".