Harry Potter expansion 'real positive for Watford area'

Since 2012, visitors have been able to walk through the Great Hall, see Dumbledore's office and board the original Hogwarts Express locomotive at Platform 9 ¾

A major expansion of The Making of Harry Potter attraction is a "real positive" for the area, the local mayor has said.

The Gringotts Wizarding Bank at the Warner Bros Studio Tour in Leavesden, near Watford, has been completed.

It took about 18 months to build and is a "significant investment", a studio spokesman said.

Watford's elected mayor, Peter Taylor, said: "There's lots of enthusiasm for the new expansion."

The Lestrange vault is used to store the treasures of Bellatrix Lestrange including the Sword of Gryffindor and Helga Hufflepuff's Cup, one of Voldemort's many Horcruxes

The Liberal Democrat said about 80% of the 600 people employed at the tour "live in Watford and the surrounding area".

"We're keen to keep visitors in the town for as long as possible, we get people going to the studios who want to stay in the town for a meal and we're always working to try to get them to stay longer," he said.

"It's a real positive for the town."

Those who designed and built the new addition include Oscar and BAFTA winning production designer Stuart Craig, construction manager Paul Hayes and head propmaker Pierre Bohanna

Boy wizard Potter was introduced in JK Rowling's Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, published in June 1997.

His story was told across a further six books, with eight movies, a stage play and the start of the Fantastic Beasts five-film series following.

All the films were shot at Leavesden and the sets were given a permanent home at the Warner Brothers Studio Tour, which opened on 31 March 2012.

It has since welcomed more than 12 million visitors, the company said.

Warwick Davies, who played Griphook in the film series has said: "It's pretty spectacular, it's epic, it's actually more impressive than I remember."

The new permanent addition, the 16,500 sq ft Gringotts Wizarding Bank - which includes the Lestrange vault - is the tour's "biggest expansion to date" and opens on Saturday.

It has been designed and built by many of the original crew members who worked on the film series and includes costumes and prosthetics belonging to the goblin bankers.

Warwick Davies, who played Griphook in the film series, said: "It's pretty spectacular, it's epic. It's actually more impressive than I remember."

Visitors can discover the costumes and prosthetic masks belonging to Bogrod, Griphook and many other goblin bankers

The prop-making department, led by Pierre Bohanna, created over 210,000 coins for the final two films alone