Marlow Film Studios: Angela Rayner to have final say on planning appeal

Deputy PM Angela Rayner is set to decide on whether a multi-million-pound film studio near Marlow will be given the green light.

Marlow Film Studios, planned for land next to A404 in Little Marlow, was refused planning permission over traffic and loss of greenbelt worries in May.

Developers Dido Property Ltd appealed Buckinghamshire Council’s decision to the Planning Inspector - a government agency responsible for deciding planning appeals. 

But the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has intervened and 'recovered' the appeal, giving Angela Rayner the final say.

A spokesperson for Marlow Film Studios said the project was ‘of national importance’ and welcomed the Secretary of State’s move.  

Beaconsfield MP Joy Morrissey, Buckinghamshire Council’s cabinet member for planning and greenbelt campaigners, however, have all warned it risks voices of opposition being ignored.

Planning appeals can be recovered because they are controversial or believed to be of significance to national infrastructure.

Once recovered, a decision is taken by the Secretary of State – although they must consider government advice and a Planning Inspector report on the plans.

A government spokesperson confirmed the department had ‘recovered’ the Marlow Film Studios appeal but could not ‘comment further at this stage’.

Marlow Film Studios’ developers say their project will deliver thousands of jobs, increase investment in the UK and regional economies, and help support a growing industry.

“This is a project of national importance,” a spokesperson said.

They added: “If approved, Marlow Film Studios will strengthen the long-term foundations for the industry.

"The high technology studio campus we would deliver will meet the needs of global investors and production companies, preparing the UK for the next half-century of British filmmaking.

"If approved, Marlow Film Studios will strengthen the long-term foundations for the industry."

Marlow Film Studios has though, been met with fierce opposition.

Buckinghamshire Council cabinet member for planning, councillor Peter Strachan said:

“We are very concerned that, by calling in this decision at the highest level nationally, whether local impact and opinion can be truly reflected in the final outcome.

“We will be robustly defending the decision of the council as the local decision maker to refuse this application in evidence to the appointed Inspector at the Inquiry and the Secretary of State, and will urge them to fully consider the significant local concerns”.

MP Joy Morrissey, whose constituency the film studios’ site is in, has opposed the studios project since development was first proposed.

She said the decision to recover the film studios application was ‘misguided’ and threatened to ignore nearby residents who had spoken out against it.

“The Marlow Film Studio proposal has been met with widespread concern from the people it affects most – my constituents,” said Mrs Morrisey.

She said: “The government’s decision to call-in this project is misguided and an attack on those who have voiced opposition from day one.”

There has also been opposition to the film studios from residents and greenbelt campaigners.

A Marlow Parish poll found found 85 per cent of residents were opposed to the studios – although turnout was 15 per cent of eligible voters.

Sam Kershaw from Save Marlow’s Greenbelt said: “We expect the forthcoming planning inquiry to reveal that the economic benefits would be negligible and we hope that Angela Rayner will decide that this is not a good use of greenbelt land as it will do nothing to generate growth or fix the housing crisis.”

A date for the Marlow Film Studios inquiry has yet to be set. 

You can view the appeal on the Planning Inspectorate website under reference 3351904.