Rayner urged to approve Marlow film studios in test of Labour planning policy
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Inquiry into plan backed by director James Cameron begins after council rejected it over use of green-belt land. Angela Rayner has been urged to give the green light to a project to build a £750m Hollywood-style film and TV studio to prove the creative industries are an “economic priority”, a public inquiry into the project backed by the Avatar director James Cameron has heard.
![[A CGI illustration of the planned Marlow Film Studios]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/f87b2cbd05f66537a1243de4c595f813e5411662/156_0_2344_1407/master/2344.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
Rayner, the deputy prime minister, will make a final decision on the proposed development of Marlow Film Studios based on a report produced after the inquiry into the project’s planning application. The hearings began on Tuesday and Rayner’s decision is seen as a test of Labour’s approach to planning and the creative industries.
The proposed development of Marlow Film Studios, which would have created 4,000 jobs, was turned down by Buckinghamshire council last May. The council cited concerns including over the impact on the road network and use of green-belt land. In October, Rayner called in the rejected planning application for the studio complex, which has received high-profile backing from film-makers including Cameron and the 1917 director Sam Mendes. The project is led by Robert Laycock, who is the great nephew of Ian Fleming and an executive partner of the James Bond creator’s estate.
On the first day of the month-long public inquiry into the application, which will provide the report and a recommendation to Rayner, the counsel for the project immediately characterised the ultimate decision as a test of Labour’s commitment to grow the UK creative industries.
