Pinewood takes on Hollywood with £200m project

The £200 million Project Pinewood will centre on a 100-acre site next to the studios in Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire.

Studio chiefs are seeking planning permission for the unprecedented expansion featuring state-of-the-art developments including a fully formed replica of a medieval castle.

Surrounding it will be zones modelled on popular film and television backdrops including downtown New York, Boston, Prague, Venice, Lake Como, Los Angeles and a Roman amphitheatre - many of which will be visible from the M25.

The plans, announced to the London Stock Exchange today by Pinewood Shepperton plc, will also see the creation of more than 2,000 homes integrated among the locations. It is anticipated that the project will create a sustainable community of studio employees - served by a Crossrail station at nearby Iver - and help to ease the shortage of housing in the South-East.

Ivan Dunleavy, Pinewood Shepperton chief executive, said: "This is an ambitious and exciting project that is of national importance. Pinewood has been home to film and television for the last 70 years and this development will help secure growth for the creative industries for the next 70 years and beyond."

He added: "The facilities we create will complement Pinewood Shepperton's existing unique infrastructure and we expect it to become an important additional incentive to bring global customers to the UK."

The ambitious plan comes on the back of a resurgence for Pinewood - which became famous in the Fifties and Sixties as the home of two great British franchises - the Carry On and James Bond films. Recent movies filmed partially at Pinewood include The Bourne Ultimatum, 28 Weeks Later and Casino Royale.

However, some filmmakers have complained about the limitations of shooting in Britain. Project Pinewood aims to counter these and create a complex to compete with the best of Hollywood. It will also provide vocational training facilities for film and TV students.

Today some of British cinema's most influential figures backed Project Pinewood. Lord Puttnam, Oscarwinningproducer of Chariots of Fire, said: "It has the potential to be genuinely transformational through the unique opportunities and resources it offers to the next generation of media professionals.

"The inclusion of the training infrastructure will unquestionably help to keep Britain at the heart of the global creative network."

Gladiator director Sir Ridley Scott said: "This project is a unique opportunity for film-makers and designers to have input into the strategic and architectural development of the UK's creative hub.

"I am tremendously excited to see the opportunities of this project realised on screen in future film and television productions."

Writer, producer and director Richard Curtis, whose films include Four Weddings And A Funeral and Notting Hill, said it would allow more filmmakers to shoot in Britain.

"I think this is a tremendous project, particularly for people who don't want to spend most of their lives in eastern Europe. The practical benefits for film and television makers could be enormous, creating movies in one place not several locations, and being right next to all the best film facilities."