Marlow Film Studios submit final plans to council

An artist's impression shows the proposed entrance to Marlow Film Studios next to the A404

An application to build a film studio on "neglected land" has been submitted to a council.

Marlow Film Studios want to build a production facility on the site of former gravel pits, next to the A404 near Marlow.

The organisation said the Buckinghamshire project would "deliver up to 4,180 jobs".

A spokesman said it would "cement the county's place as the home of high-end film and TV production".

After its use as a prisoner of war camp during World War Two, the proposed site at the A404's Westhorpe junction at Little Marlow has been used extensively for gravel quarrying, with the excavations later used for landfill.

The people behind the project - a team of local entrepreneurs and arts industry professionals - have said their goal is to "transform neglected land near Marlow into a global centre for filmmaking - with a local commitment to jobs and sustainability".

Chief executive officer, Robert Laycock, said that as well as providing a "best-in-class, sustainable film studio", there will also be a traineeship scheme linked to local schools and colleges which will "support the UK's burgeoning film industry".

"The Marlow Film Studios presents a unique opportunity for substantial new investment into Bucks and the project will cement the county's place as the home of high-end film & TV production in the UK, and one of the most attractive places in the world to make movies," he said.

The planning application also includes a new transport hub providing direct buses between Maidenhead and High Wycombe and a new hopper service around Marlow, Little Marlow and Bourne End.

There are also plans for a network of cycle routes and pedestrian pathways, a new community building and a culture and skills academy hub where education and training events and a cultural programme will be hosted.

Documents relating to the application, which follows a year of consultation events, will be available to view on Buckinghamshire Council's website.