Marlow Film Studios approved on appeal by the Secretary of State

Planning permission has been granted for Marlow Film Studios following a successful appeal to the Secretary of State.  

The £750m studio will be delivered by Dido Property Limited on a former landfill site and is set to become a major new centre for film production. The plans cover more than 168,000 square metres and feature 18 sound stages, production workshops, offices, cafes, parking and green public spaces. The project is expected to generate around 4,000 jobs and contribute £249 million to the UK economy each year. A new Culture and Skills Academy will also sit within the campus to support the development of future talent for the industry.

Gillespies undertook the landscape design and environmental planning for the planning submission for the project. Working alongside master planners Prior & Partners and architects WilkinsonEyre, the practice has shaped a landscape-led vision that responds closely to the character of the surrounding countryside. The aim has been to create a studio campus that   puts landscape and biodiversity at the heart of the masterplan and enhances the recreational network in the area.

The team’s evidence-based assessment examined the sensitivity and capacity of the site and guided a strategy that reduces visual impact while strengthening biodiversity across the former landfill site. The approach introduces interconnected habitats, screen planting, extensive green roofs and planted swales supported by native tree species, which will help integrate the studio into the wider landscape and form a coherent green infrastructure network.

New walking and cycling connections, lakeside routes and publicly accessible green areas will improve movement around the site and link it with the surrounding countryside, with the ambition to reach a Biodiversity net gain of more than 20 percent, well above local and national requirements.

Team: Prior + Partners, WilkinsonEyre, Third London Wall, Arrow Planning, Aecom, Waterman, Volterra, Camargue and Realm.