Film & TV Studios - Spotlight on the M4 Corridor
Rising demand for film studio space in the UK has prompted increased interest from film production companies looking to take advantage of what the regional centres, outside of London and the South East, have to offer.
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Cheaper rents, local and regional tax incentives, and access to natural landscape, scenery, nearby coastlines, and natural parks are among the many reasons why other major cities of the UK are gaining strong reputations as creative centres and film production hubs.
Development of Wales & South West
Wales and the South West region combined make up 18% of the UK’s 6 million sq ft of filming stage space (units >5,000 sq ft), with cities along the M4 such as Cardiff, Swansea and Bristol among some of the key locations seeing growth in major studio clusters.
South Wales has its own heartland of drama and has gained a strong track record as a base for the film and HETV industry. In Cardiff, Wolf Studios Wales offers over 126,000 sq ft across six sound stages and is home to the production of The Night Of, His Dark Materials and the new series of Doctor Who. Previously based at BBC Roath Lock Studios, the move of Doctor Who to Wolf Studios has led to BBC Studioworks (which provides studios and post production services to the industry) taking over the management of the 34,000 sq ft of sound stages at Roath Lock, signalling its arrival and commitment to South Wales.
Also in Cardiff, Great Point Seren Studios benefits from four sound stages totalling 72,000 sq ft in addition to abundant production office and ancillary space. Productions which have shot here include A Discovery of Witches, Show Dogs and Sherlock. The first phase of plans at Great Point Seren Studios is underway to expand its existing site capacity by more than doubling its stage space, with additional support space, backlot, and a full suite of services.
In Bridgend, companies such as NBC Universal, Netflix and Disney have utilised the 53,000 sq ft across four sound stages at Dragon Studios, for productions including Ironclad and Keeping Faith. Meanwhile in Swansea, Da Vinci’s Demons and Amazon’s first original drama, The Collection, were filmed at the shooting space at Bay Studios.
Bristol holds the largest space in West of England
The focus for film & HETV production in Bristol is at Bottle Yard Studios, the largest dedicated production space in the West of England at 111,000 sq ft and comprises eight stages of flexible studio space, with heights of up to 65ft. Bottle Yard Studios is expanding into a neighbouring industrial site adding three new stages, bringing the number of stages on offer from eight to 11. The extension has just been named TBY2 and is due to open in the autumn.
Film and TV production is a major part of Bristol’s economy. According to Bristol City of Film, more than 130 production and post production companies contribute over £140 million and employ approximately 3,700 people. A Creative City and a centre for creative innovation, Bristol was named UNESCO City of Film in 2017 and has been host to major film and TV series productions including The Guernsey Literary Potato Peel Pie Society, The Outlaws and Hellboy.
According to Bristol Film Office, a 225% increase in the number of major dramas filming in the city was recorded in the first quarter of 2022, compared to pre-pandemic levels. New shows that have been announced, or are currently being shot, for Bottle Yard Studios and the wider South West region include BBC One/Amazon Prime’s thriller drama, Chloe, STARZ’s Becoming Elizabeth and Netflix’s 10-part children's series, The Last Bus.
The Creative Hub based in Bottle Yard Studios has more than 25 businesses permanently based on site, providing a range of film and HETV services. Companies which operate within industries parallel to or supportive of the film and HETV sector unsurprisingly cluster not only around London and the South East, but also the M4 corridor along Swansea, Cardiff and Bristol. Data sourced through company database, FAME, highlights however how such industries are dominated by microenterprises with ten or fewer employees, which make up 74% of UK firms working to support the industry. The dearth of large companies specialising in the production of props, sets and camera equipment reinforces reports that the industry remains vulnerable to an increasing shortfall of workers.
Bristol is most known globally for its centre for animation and Children’s TV production due to its Academy Award-winning Aardman Animations studio, the creators of Wallace and Gromit, and Chicken Run, as well as Wildseed Studios, which agreed a licensing deal that has seen its animated series Dodo shown on major US networks.
The city is also well established for producing content with a natural history or wildlife theme due to being home to the world-renowned BBC Natural History Unit. This has led to the creation of ‘Green Hollywood’ in Bristol, the largest concentration of film production wildlife content in the world.
Channel 4 set up their creative hub in Bristol in 2019, as part of its relocation out of London. Channel 4’s Bristol Hub also just recently launched a scheme designed to identify and support new TV drama writers in the West and South West of England, as part of Channel 4’s larger training and development strategy which aims to create over 15,000 opportunities nationwide in 2022.
Incentive encourages investment
Local incentives supporting the film & HETV sector add to the attractiveness of regional film production. In Wales, alongside the UK tax relief of up to 25%, qualifying films can also apply for separate Welsh subsidies. The Creative Wales Production Fund supports the growth of Wales as a destination of choice and is targeted at companies that provide diverse opportunities for a long term, skilled employment base and who are implementing the latest practices in sustainable production. In addition, the Wales Cultural and Creative Support Scheme (WCCSS) will help support and sustain the sector due to ongoing challenges resulting from Covid-19 and will run until 2025.
In the South West, a £30 million Strength in Places Fund has been provided to MyWorld as part of the Government’s Levelling Up agenda. MyWorld is a collaborative hub in Bristol and Bath, and the fund will build on regional strengths in creative media production and will be used to invest in production facilities and advanced digital skills programmes across the region.
We expect some further new film and TV studio developments in these regional centres. In addition to the expansions at Bottle Yard Studios in Bristol and Great Point Seren Studios, Cardiff, a £3.8 million extension is planned at Dragon Studios, Bridgend, and due for delivery mid-next year. Not only will these developments create jobs, skills and training opportunities, but they will also support the local supply chains to cities along the M4 and bring economic and social value to the surrounding areas.