Pinewood Shepperton Unveil Ambitious Expansion Plan

Pinewood Shepperton plc has announced its intention to extend Pinewood Studios. The proposal know as 'Project Pinewood', will create the world's first purpose-built Film and Television 'live-work' community and ultimately a cluster for the wider creative industries.
Pinewood, named by Sir Charles Boot because of the trees and it 'suggested something of the American film centre', is hoping to secure the future of the British creative industries for the next 70 years and lure Hollywood talent to the UK.
The studio has hosted many British films throughout the years and has been associated with the Bond franchise and Carry On films.
However, Central and Eastern Europe have begun to rival Britain as a location, partly because of the lower costs of shooting there.
BBC TV series 'Robin Hood' was shot in Hungary and Disney's 'Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe' was shot in the Czech Republic.
Pinewood Shepperton hopes to reverse this trend by creating a hub for technical expertise and replicating the most popular locations around the world in one place.
Chief executive Ivan Dunleavy said: "The vision for this project is a positve response to the growth that is happening in the UK's creative industries.
"It will create a unique environment resolving some of the inefficiency of international travel, reducing cost and timing delays and having to go over seas to film in these locations.
"We hope that it will be popular with UK filmmakers and creative industries around the world. The UK has an enviable reputation for creativity in all centres but what we don't have is an epicentre, or cluster to bring all those disciplines together.
Although the proposed expansion is on the green belt land, Dunleavy is confident that planning permission will be granted.
It is understood that BBC 1 soap Eastenders is on the verge of moving from Elstree to Pinewood. ITV chairman Michael Grade remains non-executive chairman of Pinewood also played a role vying for the expansion.
Lord Puttnam, producter of 'The Killing Fields', 'Chariots of Fire' and 'Midnight Express', said: "It has the potential to be genuinely transformational."
Stewart Till, chairman of the UK Film Council, said: "UK Film is respected across the globe. We have world-class film-makers and they deserve world-class facilities. Project Pinewood would help secure the future of UK film for decades to come."
The site will have a British surburb, a Roman amphitheatre, Lake Como and scenes from New York, London, suburban Chicago and Chinatown, Boston.
Residential apartments to be built on the site will be integrated with the film sets, there is also plans for affordable housing for students and those involved in the arts.
(DS)