Reading is set to be the home of the “largest purpose-built film studio and digital creative hub complex in the UK,” after US firm Blackhall Studios announced plans for a brand new TV and film studio.
The £150 million complex will be based at Reading’s Thames Valley Science Park, with Blackhall hoping to have it open by 2022.
Blackhall is partnering with the University of Reading on the plans and has brought in Nick Smith, former executive commercial director at Pinewood-Shepperton, as UK president and chief operating officer.
The company says the studio could create up to 3,000 jobs in the local area, including 1,500 onsite staff. A planning team is currently being appointed with planning applications set for submission to Wokingham Borough Council early in 2020.
Speaking about the plans, Smith said, “Britain has an enviable array of filmmaking talent, but the industry is short of high-quality studio facilities capable of catering for the new and emerging technologies that will form the core of television and film production in the future.
“The proposals support the UK Government’s commitment to doubling the sector’s annual inward investment to £4 billion by 2025 and Blackhall is committed to play its part in making that vision a reality.”
