By Leah Montebello
More than 1700 people have formally objected to Hertsmere Borough Council about Sky Studios Elstree’s plan to expand on to 38 acres of Green Belt.
With the 13 stages at Sky Studios Elstree South (SSES) not yet officially open, Sky have applied to double the size of their site and build an additional 10 stages on 38 acres of Green Belt next door.
Although the move would result in 88 new local jobs, the media giant have also received objections from The Environment Agency, The Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust, the CPRE, Shenley Parish Council, The National Highways Agency and Hertsmere’s Arboricultural advisers.
During the summer, Sky ran a Sky Zero ‘Be a Force for Nature’ campaign with the WWF on a mission to protect UK habitats. However, they were criticised for damaging the wildflower meadows on Green Belt next to their site during construction of Sky Studios Elstree South.
The Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust said that Sky’s proposed compensation payment £12,000 per habitat unit “is not acceptable”
Sky have currently offered to pay over £700,000 for the loss of biodiversity, but the Save Hertsmere has called for this figure to be within the millions.
As reported by City A.M. in June, Sky brought forward proposals to expand Sky Studios Elstree with 10 new sound stages, showing its ongoing vote of confidence in UK film and TV.
“Elstree and Borehamwood has an incredible history in film and TV production and we are proud to present proposals to invest further in the area by bringing more jobs, training and investment to the local community,” Sky Studios Chief Operating Officer Caroline Cooper said.
“Together with our sister company NBCUniversal we want to create more and more world-class film and television in the UK and, with other significant studios nearby, Hertfordshire’s golden triangle of filmmaking makes it a perfect place to do this”.
Amazon Prime Video announced a landmark multimillion-pound long-term contract with Shepperton Studios earlier this year for exclusive use of new facilities at the Surrey studios for future original TV series and movie productions.
The new facilities will comprise nine sound stages, workshops and office accommodation, totalling approximately 450,000 square feet, and forming part of the wider redevelopment and expansion of Shepperton Studios, which will deliver approximately 1.2 million square feet of new studio space.
Spending on UK film and television production has rose from £2.85bn in 2016 to £5.64bn in 2021, a compound annual growth rate of 14.6 per cent.
Netflix and and Disney have both pledged to continue to invest in British TV and film production, driving demand for more studio space.
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