Shepperton
Studios' grand plan to effectively double its size at a cost of nearly
£750 million is being scaled back, a company director said.
In an interview with a local paper, the Bucks Free Press, Andrew Smith,
the studios' head of corporate affairs, suggested that local community
concerns about the massive development project were the primary reason
for reducing it. "We have listened to representations from the
community," he said, "and we are now proposing to use about 32 percent
of the land, instead of 100 percent. We've always had a good
relationship with the community, and we want to maintain that."
Nevertheless, the new development still includes plans for permanent outdoor sets
that include a Venetian canal, a Tudor village and street scenes from
San Francisco, Paris and Prague. "Pinewood Group, the owner of Shepperton Studios is looking to be the
creative hub of the UK, if not Europe," Smith said.
Source: contactmusic.com