Film studios given permission for major expansion
The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead has approved plans for building six more sound stages.
**Film studios granted approval for major expansion**
A historic film production site has been given the go-ahead to expand.
On Thursday, the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead unanimously approved Amazon, the owner of Bray Studios, to construct six additional sound stages at the Windsor site.
The tech giant acquired the studios in 2024, after the former owner had already secured planning permission for an expansion in 2022.
Kiera Head-Lewis of the Berkshire Film Office in Slough, which helps coordinate filming across the county, said the project would also benefit local businesses, crew and talent seeking work in the industry.
The studios were previously used by Hammer Films.
The British Film Commission (BFC) had earlier said it "recognises that the studio benefits from Amazon MGM's commitment" and welcomed its "ambition to support employment opportunities for both the local community and more widely across the UK sector".
Head-Lewis said they "get a whole load of different requests with the close links to London, just being off of the M4".
"It's become a great place to film in Berkshire because we have such a wide variety of filming locations - we have the urban but then we also have the countryside which is something that London can't necessarily compete with."
She said some of the productions they had helped facilitate include crime drama Mobland, which filmed in Reading, and the new Marvel series VisionQuest.
"That was a very big production, we worked with them over around five to six months and they filmed in Slough," Head-Lewis said.
She said they were always in contact with "a whole range of companies", which created links to help them "get the foot in the door".
"With local career and talent - we're always receiving job opportunities that we share with our with our networks to get them into the industry," she added.