Elstree sound stages to be demolished over asbestos and Raac

Elstree Film Studios in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, is more than 100 years old

The go-ahead has been given for three historic film stages to be demolished.

The sound stages at Elstree Film Studios in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, have been found to contain asbestos and crumbling Raac (reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete).

Classic films including Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Star Wars and The Shining were made there.

The three stages have also been home to quiz shows Pointless and Who Wants to be a Millionaire?

The planning committee at Hertsmere Borough Council (HBC) gave the go-ahead at a meeting on Thursday for the demolition of stages seven, eight and nine, which would take place between January and August 2024.

Scenes from the James Bond film, The Spy Who Loved Me, were shot on sound stages at Elstree

Construction workers found asbestos in the building in 2022.

HBC said the roofs in these buildings - which were first used in the 1960s - "had not only lost their useful life but were in a dangerous state".

Building experts also say Raac concrete can deteriorate after 30 years.

Films have been produced at the Elstree site since 1914. This fog scene was shot in 1937.

HBC, which owns Elstree Film Studios, previously agreed to rebuild the stages in the future, although plans remain unclear.

Ross Whear, head of planning at HBC, said: "If a building came back like-for-like in that location, then the fact there was a building there [...] would be a material consideration in the consideration of a new building."

The three stages were used to film the Star Wars films from 1977 onwards, several scenes from the Indiana Jones films and the 2014 film Paddington.

Stage eight was home to the BBC's Pointless and stage nine was used by ITV to film Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? during the 2000s.