Movies made in Dagenham?
November 3, 2020
A US property developer that owns studios in the US is investing £300 million (€333m) to build a Hollywood-style complex in Dagenham, East London, according to various reports in the UK presss.
Hackman Capital Partners, the owner of sites including Culver Studios in Los Angeles and Silvercup Studios in New York, has apparently agreed to invest over the next three years to develop the site with the first productions due to start filming by mid-2022.
“Dagenham used to be famous for factories and Fords but in the future we will be equally famous for making films,” said Darren Rodwell, the leader of Barking and Dagenham council.
The council estimates the studio would create 1,200 jobs and contribute £35 million a year to the east London economy. The Easterbrook Studios site will include 12 sound stages over 4.5 hectares (11 acres), about two-thirds the size of Pinewood.
The plan to build a studio in East London has been tried before, the council was forced to seek a new investor after its original backer, Pacifica Ventures, pulled out last year citing Brexit uncertainty.
In the last two years, Disney and Netflix have struck long-term deals with Pinewood and sister studio Shepperton Studios to secure production space to ensure an uninterrupted flow of content.