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| The site where the campus will be built Photo: Christopher Jackson Drone Videography & Photography |
A new film and television studio complex is to built in Scotland, it was announced yesterday. Land has successfully been purchased for the development of Stirling Studios at Forthside. Where possible, existing buildings on the site will be retained and redeveloped, with additional work being done to create 100,000 sq ft of studio space and 110,000 sq ft for production, logistics and office space, making it one of the biggest such sites in the country.
Stirling's central position in Scotland, and the lower costs involved in building and resourcing a site outside the Central Belt, will be significant advantages in both development and the running of the complex. Stirling has a fair sized train station and is well connected by road. As a popular conference location, it also has a good supply of hotel accommodation to provide for cast and crew travelling there to work. It has already hosted a number of large scale productions, such as Outlaw King, Cloud Atlas and The Eagle.
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| Isabel Davis, John Lamont MP, Chris Kane and Carol Beattie launch Stirling Studios Photo: Whyler Photos/Stirling Council |
The studio project is expected to create over 4,000 jobs over a period of 25 years, and it will also give a boost to film students at the University of Stirling. Joiners, labourers, plasters, scaffolders, lighting and electrical engineers, costume designers, hairdressers and make-up artists will be among those needed, alongside administration and support staff.
"Stirling Studios brings one of those rare moments in Stirling’s history which offers the potential to be truly transformational. We have an opportunity to embed an industry in our city which will bring thousands of high-skilled jobs, put us on a global creative map and deliver a significant economic boost to the region over many decades," said Stirling Council leader Chris Kane. "Students in our schools, our college and our University will be able to pursue creative careers right here in Stirling that in the past would have meant having to consider leaving to chase opportunities elsewhere."
"Scotland has recently seen significant growth in productions looking to access its internationally recognised cast and crew, as well as its versatile natural and built environments," said Isabel Davis, executive director of Screen Scotland. "This new site will only add to Scotland’s considerable offering as a filming destination. Working with Stirling Council on this over the last few months, we have been very encouraged by the visionary approach that the team there have taken to get to this stage, including the opportunity to grow the local crew base. We look forward to continuing to work with them towards the realisation of the project."
