Hollywood loves a happy ending, preferably after a few twists and turns along the way. The British version has another chance to write its own after Marlow Film Studios, backed by Avatar director James Cameron and a host of UK creative talents, said it will appeal against the rejection of a planned complex in the country's movie heartland west of London. Suspense turns on whether the two-month-old Labour government will intervene to greenlight a project that so clearly aligns with its mission of stimulating economic growth.
Approval would certainly upset a lot of people.
The wealthy and attractive riverside town of Marlow is in the heart not only of the local film industry but also of British NIMBYland, where residents defend their views and property values zealously. The 36-hectare proposed site is a former quarry and landfill but happens to be designated green belt -- buffer zones designed to prevent urban sprawl that can be developed only in special circumstances. Environmental groups opposed the application. So did the local Conservative member of parliament, Joy Morrissey, who deemed it a "bad application" that would do "significant harm".
Marlow Film Studios would strengthen Britain's competitive position as a moviemaking location in an industry where the nation is already a global heavyweight. Growth in 3D cinema and streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon.com's Prime Video and Disney+ is driving demand for high-end studio space. Productions are getting longer and bigger-budget, with UK-made hit shows such as Bridgerton, The Witcher and The Crown running to multiple seasons.
The developer says the project will create 4,000 jobs, half of them locally, and draw £3.2 billion (142.1 billion baht) of investment in the first decade. The company is headed by film and TV producer Robert Laycock, great-nephew of James Bond author Ian Fleming. Supporters include directors Sam Mendes (who directed two Bond movies at nearby Pinewood Studios) and Paul Greengrass (United 93). Oscar-winning actor Jeremy Irons showed up to the Buckinghamshire Council committee meeting that turned down the application.
My betting is that the film studio will get built. The case is rightly regarded as a test of how serious the new government is about ripping up planning rules to unblock development. Allowing such an opportunity to slip would be an embarrassment. The appeal will go to the planning inspectorate, a civil service body, but Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner -- as secretary of state for housing, communities and local government -- has the power to take over the decision. Marlow Film Studios is also calling for a public inquiry.
Overriding local democracy would risk charges of autocratic behaviour by the new government. But that fallout looks tolerable. Ms Morrissey won her Beaconsfield constituency by more than 11 percentage points from the second-placed Liberal Democrat candidate in the July 4 general election, with Labour in third place. This isn't a seat that the party is ever likely to win. In any case, it's far from clear that public opinion in the area is genuinely opposed: The council received more than 5,200 letters of support for the project.
Labour has already shown that it isn't averse to upsetting some people in pursuit of its goals. Ed Miliband approved three solar farms after taking over as secretary of state for energy security and net zero in July, boasting that he had made the decision three days after the plans arrived on his desk. All the projects were in Conservative-held constituencies, provoking howls of outrage from local members of parliament (Alicia Kearns, the MP for Rutland and Stamford, professed herself "utterly appalled").
Marlow Film Studios has a compelling case on economic and planning-policy grounds. Three-quarters of UK film and TV activity takes place in the area west of London, and more than 12,000 crew are within one hour's travel of the Marlow site, according to the developer. The government's National Planning Policy Framework recognises the importance of industry clusters, saying that decisions should make provisions for these in the creative and high-technology sectors. Labour has strengthened that language in its proposed revisions to the document.
More broadly, the creative industries contributed £124.6 billion to the UK economy in 2022 -- more than the life sciences, aerospace and auto industries combined. They have also been growing much faster, expanding 50.3% between 2010 and 2022, versus 21.5% for the wider economy. Film, TV, video, radio and photography is the second-largest subsector within the category, behind IT, software and computer services.
It's a promising script and one that an economy in urgent need of growth drivers can't afford to turn down. This story deserves a happy ending. Bloomberg
Matthew Brooker is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering business and infrastructure. Formerly, he was an editor for Bloomberg News and the South China Morning Post.