Permission granted for first phase of film studio

7 hours ago

Evie LakeNorth East and Cumbria

News image — The first of the new buildings will stand to the east of the site

Supplied A tall dark grey block with 1 painted on its right side in orange. A two-storey light grey building with windows sits next to it. There are trees and plants with Sunderland's Northern Spire bridge in the background. — The first of the new buildings will stand to the east of the site

The first phase of a city's new film studio has been granted planning permission.

Studio One at Crown Works in Sunderland will have three sound stages, production accommodation, backlot space and a car park.

The WH Foster Printworks building will also be refurbished as part of the plans, which were given the go-ahead by the city council's planning authority this week.

Site preparations and remediation works have been completed, with further enabling work needed before building begins.

Officials behind the scheme previously said building work was expected to begin in autumn 2026.

The Reform council's leader Chris Eynon said it was a "significant step forward" which "paves the way for construction of a development that will establish Sunderland and the North East as a major destination for film and high-end production".

A building site covered in sand with a few construction vehicles on it, with grey fencing and greenery in front. There are a few piles of rubble on the ground. In the background is the Northern Spire bridge, which has a very tall white pointed arch in its centre with cables shooting off. Other buildings and trees are behind it. It is a cloudy day but blue skies can be seen in the background. — The construction of Crown Works is expected to begin later in the year

The development is backed by more than £38m of public money from the North East Mayoral Strategic Authority.

The original £450m privately funded plans had included 19 studios, but were later scaled down to two after investors pulled out.

Liberal Democrat councillor for Pallion, Martin Haswell told the Local Democracy Reporting Service he "sincerely hoped we don't see a watering down of the project over time".

"We've seen some investors dropping out and we've seen questions being asked about its viability," he said.

"I genuinely hope that particularly the new administration at the council back it and we do get to see this land developed because it has been a blight on the landscape in Pallion."

Labour North East mayor Kim McGuinness said the authority was "backing the whole sector" and "investing in skills, supporting creative businesses and attracting more productions to the region, to make sure that Crown Works delivers opportunities for working-class creatives".

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