Amazon's studios plan should be approved - council
Amazon has used the studios since 2022 and bought it in 2024 but now wants to revamp the site.
Amazon's studios plan should be approved - council
The company held a public consultation on its proposal, which closed in May.
Amazon MGM Studios’ major overhaul of Bray Film Studios is expected to be approved next week, according to council planning officers.
The historic Water Oakley site was once home to the famous horror studio Hammer Films and was used to shoot films including The Mummy and The Curse of Frankenstein.
Amazon has operated the studios since 2022 and said its current plans, which include a multi-storey car park and six new sound stages, would help “realise the site's full potential”.
Planning officers at the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead said the scheme should be granted permission at a meeting on 22 October.
The studios were also used for The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Alien, but production levels began to fall in the 1990s and 2000s, and the site was almost turned into housing.
In 2022, the Burke family, who previously owned the studios, received approval from the Royal Borough to redevelop the site.
Two years later, Amazon bought it to film some of its biggest productions. It has been used for the Lord of the Rings spin-off The Rings of Power and the second series of Citadel.
The redevelopment plans promise to create a “world-class studio blending function and desirability”, and Amazon wants to be able to film two productions there at the same time.
The plans also include refurbishing the Grade II listed Down Place House and using it as the main production office.
A shuttle bus service is also proposed for production teams between the complex and Maidenhead, Windsor and Eton Riverside and Windsor and Eton Central train stations.
The company said it wants to turn Bray Studios into a “thriving new employment hub”.