Ashford International Studios was a proposed multi-media commercial and residential site in Newtown, a suburb of

Ashford, Kent Ashford is a town in the Borough of Ashford, Ashford district, in the county of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Great Stour at the southern or Escarpment, scarp edge of the North Downs, about by road southeast of centr ...

, in England, on the site of the former

Ashford railway works Ashford railway works was a major locomotive and wagon construction and repair workshop in Ashford, Kent in England. Constructed by the South Eastern Railway (UK), South Eastern Railway in 1847, it became a major centre for railway works in the ...

, adjacent to

Ashford International station Ashford International railway station is a National Rail station in the town of Ashford, Kent, England. It connects several railway lines, including High Speed 1 and the South Eastern Main Line. Services are operated by Southeastern and South ...

History

The project was created after the site of the railway works had lain dormant for over 30 years, and following a report by the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

that the film industry requires 10,000 further employees in the next five years, along with around of additional space. The town council has said that although on-location filming is popular in Kent, citing films such as '' Avengers: Age of Ultron'' and ''

Into The Woods ''Into the Woods'' is a 1986 musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. The musical intertwines the plots of several Brothers Grimm fairy tales, exploring the consequences of the characters' wishes and quests. T ...

'', there are no appropriate local production facilities. The site covers and includes five Grade II listed buildings, and is a joint scheme between Ashford Borough Council and the privately funded Quinn Estates. Plans were first approved by the council in April 2020. The existing listed buildings on site, including the railway sheds, will be developed around and incorporated into the final design. As of June 2022, the site is 65% funded by the council. Facilities include a hotel, 300 apartments, a restaurant and a multi-story car park.

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...

and

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

have all expressed interest in operating on the site. The project has been approved by local Member of Parliament

Damian Green Damian Howard Green (born 17 January 1956) is a British politician who served as First Secretary of State and Minister for the Cabinet Office from June to December 2017 in the second May government. A member of the Conservative Party, he s ...

. The studios were originally planned to open in 2022, but progress was delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, Quinn Estates hoped work could be completed by 2023. The project was boosted in October 2022 by a £14.7 million boost from the government's Levelling Up Fund. In March 2023, the council agreed to a £50m loan to secure funding for development. Around £400,000 has been funded for improvements in road access to the site, including the nearby

A2070 road The A2070 is a major road running north–south through Kent from Ashford to Brenzett. It provides a strategic link between the M20 motorway and the A259, which runs along the East Sussex coast. Creation The route was created from the B2081 ...

. Preliminary enabling and infrastructure works began to take place in 2023. Full construction was expected to begin that August, and the studios to open in July 2025. However, in September 2024, the company running the scheme said it had failed to find an operator, with the four candidates saying there was no "viable business proposition". The following year, the council announced the scheme would be scrapped, to replaced with housing and a small number of commercial units.

References

External links

Official website

Quinn Estates website

Video of site plans
{{Ashford Ashford, Kent British film studios