Government wants Sunderland film studio to proceed ‘at pace’

The culture secretary says she expects to see progress “very quickly” on the building of a £475m film and TV studio in Sunderland.

Plans for the Crown Works Studios project were given the green light last year with hopes of creating more than 8,000 jobs.

While preparatory works have begun on the former shipyard site in Pallion, next to the Northern Spire bridge, construction of the studios is yet to start.

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Lisa Nandy said the government wanted to see the development progress “at pace”.

Government funding of £25m towards the regeneration of the riverside plot through the North East devolution deal, was announced by the then Conservative Chancellor Jeremy Hunt last year and backed by Rachel Reeves when Labour came to power.

Production company Fulwell 73 and financiers Cain International plan to build 20 soundstages on the banks of the Wear.

Asked about what progress was being made, Ms Nandy said: “We are working very closely to make sure that moves at pace and that [with] the investment we have put in people start to see results very quickly.

“What we have to ensure is that we build that ecosystem of local skills around it to make it even more attractive for people to invest and build a much more resilient economy in the North East.

“I think people living here will know, as I do living in Wigan, that if  you only have one industry and that industry goes then it can be catastrophic.

“But if you have the whole ecosystem of skills it survives for decades and decades to come.”

Diggers are on site to get the land ready for construction, with preparations expected to continue until this summer.

Sunderland City Council said it was “remediating the site in preparation for future investment” and would soon be procuring a contractor, with building work expected to start “later in the year”.