West London Gillette factory to become six-stage film studio

Hounslow Council has given planning permission for a six-stage film studio to be built at the former Gillette factory in west London. 

The 4.4 hectare site is located directly next to Sky’s main UK campus, and the building has been used for filming in the past but this would be a complete redevelopment. The scheme would see six sound stages built, ranging from roughly 15,000 sq ft to just over 20,000 sq ft. 

The plans include virtual production facilities, as well as production offices, workshops, and other supporting spaces. The well-known Gillette factory building is to be retained and refurbished into predominantly office and support spaces, ancillary to the proposed studios. Other historic buildings will also be retained. 

This development is being backed by The Vinyl Factory, which runs 180 Studios at 180 The Strand - cultural centre which houses productions, events, conferences and exhibitions. It has run the existing studios at the Gillette factory since 2010, with 10 major productions having taken place there in that time. It hopes that 2,000 people could be directly employed onsite after the redevelopment.