Film studios claim 'widespread' support ahead of Marlow Parish Poll

Marlow residents are set to vote on whether they want Marlow Film Studios to go ahead in a Parish Poll on Thursday (May 9).

Campaigners against the development say they are confident its result will support their view that the studios aren’t wanted.

But ahead of the vote a separate poll – commissioned by the studios – reports support for its construction.

Marlow Film Studios says its result indicated widespread support from residents around Marlow, however a representative from Save Marlow’s Green Belt said it was a distraction from the upcoming Parish Poll.

“The survey looks like a desperate attempt to pre-empt next week’s Marlow Town Parish Poll in which we are fully confident that the vast majority of local people will vote ‘no’ to the studio,” group co-chair Sam Kershaw said.

“Everyone is aware of the devastating impact that it will have on traffic, the environment and the landscape and have no confidence that any of the claimed benefits will ever come about.”

The poll – conducted by Opinium on behalf of Marlow Film Studios – found 79 per cent of 500 Buckinghamshire residents supported the project.

It also found 78 per cent of 152 residents surveyed living within five miles of the studios’ site, also supported the plan.

Residents were contacted by telephone and selected based on telephone area code.

Marlow Film Studios chief executive officer Robert Laycock said: “While opposition to development can sometimes be vocal, in these circumstances independent research shows a far more supportive, meaningful and positive attitude widespread in the community.”

He added: “This independent research indicates that more than three quarters of people within five miles of the studios are supportive of the studio proposals.

“The benefits of Marlow Film Studios are clearly of meaningful interest to the local community, yet those opportunities also resonate outside the Parish of Marlow, and into the wider Buckinghamshire Council area as this poll shows.

“The result is clear: robust, independent data shows widespread and overwhelming support for the Studio.”

Last month, a Marlow Town Council meeting, called by residents and attended by more than 250 of them, saw them vote that they have no confidence in the council over ‘secret meetings’ council members held with the studios developers.

The meeting also voted to proceed with the Parish Poll.

Residents will be asked to vote on two questions:

- Do you want Marlow Film Studios to be built?

- Do you want development in the greenbelt on the scale proposed by Marlow Film Studios?

More information on the Marlow Parish Poll, including polling stations and opening times, is available on the town council website.