Investment company AXA IM Alts has been given the green light to redevelop the former home of EastEnders into a new film and TV facility named Fairbanks Studios.
The company has secured a unanimous resolution to grant planning permission for the redevelopment of approximately 50 per cent of the BBC Elstree Centre TV and film studio.
It plans to transform the studios and ancillary spaces into a 266,000 sq ft media campus for the high-end TV and the independent film industry.
Specialist film and TV studio developer and operator Oxygen Studios has been appointed to advise on the project, with construction planned to start later this year. The campus will be rebranded as Fairbanks Studios, reflecting its heritage, having been owned and operated by Hollywood legend Douglas Fairbanks Jr in the 1950s, said AXA IM Alts.
The transformation will include more than quadrupling the stage space to approximately 100,000 sq ft across five state-of-the-art sound stages, ranging in size from 16,000 to 21,000 sq ft.
The expansion will also include new workshops, offices, a café, base camp, backlot, and improved cycle and parking facilities. A new Media Hub will offer 58,000 sq ft of office and amenity spaces across five storeys, dedicated exclusively to media-related industries and businesses directly connected to the studios, added the company.
Fairbanks Studios is targeting a BREEAM Outstanding rating and will be assessed against the Albert Studio Sustainability Standard. The development will also include new landscaped open spaces and urban greening with c.130 new trees.
Speaking about the project, Rob Samuel, head of UK development at AXA IM Alts, said: “These studios have played an important role in the establishment and evolution of the UK TV and film industry for over a century, since the Neptune Film Company first opened its doors in 1914. We are proud to be moving forward with the redevelopment, continuing that legacy by delivering state-of-the-art studios that will support the growth of Britain’s creative sector and bring lasting benefits to the local area through employment opportunities, architectural distinction and sustainable design.”
“With demand for content continuing to increase and with consumers able to choose from a growing number of entertainment platforms, the supply of high-quality space for television and film production has not been able to keep pace. Our transformative plans for Fairbanks Studios, which follow our recently commenced modernisation and extension of the Bry-sur-Marne film and series studios in Paris, will help us address that imbalance and provide us with critical mass as well as further expertise in an emerging asset class where we have a strong conviction.”
