300,000 sq ft will be kept as production space
Only 300,000 sq ft of Pinewood’s proposed 1.4m sq ft expansion will be used as production space, its planning application has revealed.
The revised plans include five sound stages, as well as production offices, workshops and a backlot. Construction of the studio aspect of the expansion would only begin when a commercial user for the stages has been found.
The film studio originally gained approval for 1.4 million sq ft of new production space in 2023 - which would have included 21 new sound stages, a backlot filming space, education and training hub and a publicly accessible nature reserve - the latter of which will still be built.Just over 78% of this space will now be used to house a data centre.
A public consultation on the new plans was launched earlier this year, and it has been revealed as part of those proceedings that the studio now wishes to take advantage of the government’s focus on building new data centres in the UK. It also cites the downturn in film and HETV production as behind the move.
A statement on its site reads: “In 2023, the land to the south of Pinewood Studios was granted planning permission for a 1.4 million square foot studio development. Since there has been a reduction in global film and high-end television production which has triggered a review of our existing planning consent.
“In response and considering national economic and planning policy, we are reviewing development options for Pinewood South and are looking at a proposal to combine a smaller film production studio with a data centre.
“These uses are a compelling blend of two of the Government’s key focus industries (digital and technologies and the creative industries) as set out in their Modern Industrial Strategy.”
Pinewood reveals that the north end of the plot will be used for the film studios, while the rest will be buildings housing data centres. The new plans include the same landscaping and “Peace Path” as the original application.
Pinewood South is within one of the UK’s “Availability Zones” for data centres - which have been pinpointed as key areas to build them. The local area already includes centres from Microsoft, AWS, NTT and Cyrus One.
Pinewood Group is owned by real estate manager Aermont Capital, and completed the expansion of its Shepperton Studios last year. It also revealed plans to launch an Indie Film Hub at Pinewood, shortly after announcing that it’s TV division would be closing down in 2025.
Images: Pinewood Studios
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