Calls for more funding to help get film studio development in Sunderland off the ground
The North East mayor has called for more public funding to help get a landmark film studio development in Sunderland off the ground.
Kim McGuinness says she has asked Chancellor Rachel Reeves to deliver more funding for the proposed Crown Works Studios project in next week’s Budget.
The flagship riverside development was thrown into uncertainty when its main private investor pulled out earlier this year and Sunderland City Council has recently hired real estate firm CBRE to find new partners for the £450 million project.
The UK government has already committed £25 million to the scheme, which was confirmed by Ms Reeves in her 2024 autumn statement following a previous agreement as part of the devolution deal which established the regional mayor.
But Ms McGuinness is now calling for further backing when the Chancellor presents her Budget on November 26.
The mayor’s office named funding for the Crown Works among a list of priority measures that she had raised with Government officials in pre-Budget meetings in London last week, describing it as a “major opportunity to grow the region’s thriving creative sector”.
Ms McGuinness said: “I will always champion the North East. That’s why I’m continuing to push directly with the Treasury for further investment, so we can get spades in the ground at Crown Works as soon as possible.
“This project is a regional priority and we are working hard to attract investors so we can create thousands of jobs for local people.
“Culture is at the heart of our plans. We remain confident Crown Works can eventually be the largest film and TV production complex in the UK outside of London and the South East so our budding actors, screenwriters and production staff can make blockbuster films on their doorstep.”
Local authorities have previously committed to total public investment of up to £120 million in the film and TV production hub, which would be located on the banks of the Wear in Pallion.
After financiers Cain International withdrew from the Crown Works development, the city council said in June that it hoped to have new funding and a developer on board by the end of this year.
Planning permission for the development was secured last year, but detailed approval has only been granted for a first phase of building that would include four sound stages, production offices, workshop buildings, and a multi-storey car park.
CBRE’s brochure advertising the scheme to investors describes it as a “once in a generation opportunity” that will be a “key part of one the country’s most ambitious city wide regeneration projects”.
Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service this summer, Sir Keir Starmer promised “full backing” from the Government to get the scheme back on track.
Meanwhile, reports emerged on Monday that Ms Reeves could be about to grant metro mayors the power to levy a nightly tax on hotel stays in order to raise extra revenue.
The tourist tax has been a long-standing aim of Ms McGuinness, who has previously suggested a £1-per-night charge.
Her further asks of the Chancellor include:
Long-term funding to keep bus fares capped at £2.50, and at £1 for young people.Upgrades to the A19 Moor Farm roundabout. Extra trains to be rolled out on the Northumberland Line. She also reiterated calls made alongside other mayors last week for the lifting of the two-child benefit cap and major transport infrastructure, including the full restoration of the mothballed Leamside Line.