Bray Film Studios to get major expansion

Both the 1950s and 2020s versions of Dracula were filmed at Bray Film Studios

A major expansion has been approved for the studios where Hammer Films shot Dracula and other horror classics.

Bray Film Studios in Berkshire, where The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Rocketman were also filmed, will get nine new sound stages.

Plans include four workshops, a rehearsal building, offices, accommodation, and 750 parking spaces.

The expansion will extend into greenbelt land and see several buildings demolished.

The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead's development management committee voted seven to two in favour of the plans for the site, based at Down Place, Water Oakley, subject to conditions.

The studios will get nine new sound stages

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, councillors were told the plans would create about 1,500 full-time jobs at the studio.

It was also said it would inject about £139m a year into the UK economy.

The site was bought by Hammer Film Productions in the 1950s and many of its most famous works were shot there, including The Curse of Frankenstein, The Mummy, The Curse of the Werewolf, The Hound of the Baskervilles, and the Christopher Lee Dracula movies.

Bram Stoker's horror icon returned to the studios in 2019 when the BBC's latest version of Dracula was also shot at the studios.

Rocketman is among the recent productions to have used the historic studios

In 2012 planning permission was given to the previous owners to demolish the sound stages and redevelop them into housing, but the studios were saved by an increase in demand for film space.

Samantha Rayner, the lead member for Windsor, said it was a "huge tourism opportunity to secure the Royal Borough as the location of choice for people who want to see where their films are made".

Phil Haseler, chairman of the planning panel, said: "I know not everybody is going to be happy with this outcome, but I think the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead will benefit considerably by this application, and Bray film studios will become iconic across the country."

The buildings set to be demolished are three homes on Water Oakley Lane, the Phoenix gym, and Water Oakley farmhouse.