Plans submitted for new Bedford film and TV studio which would create 1,400 jobs

Plans for new film and television studio campus have been submitted.

If approved, Scott Brownrigg’s masterplan for a campus near Stewartby could create 1,400 jobs.

The scheme redevelops a 143-acre site and former clay mineral quarry to provide over 1.75m sq ft flexible studio space together with on-site accommodation, amenities and a re-wilded water body and canal for developer VERB and film studio operator Quartermaster.

Scott Brownrigg hopes Home of Production (HOP) Bedfordshire will set a new benchmark for sustainable studio facilities in the UK and will be the first facility designed by producers, for producers.

Back in April, and then again in June, Bedford Today revealed where the various drop-in exhibitions were people could see the plans for the former quarry, known as Quest Pit.

There’ll be four separate 430,500 sq ft production units on a 70-acre platform, four metres above the water level. These units centre around a restaurant and activity zone, visually linked to two large lakes that have formed over time due to the natural flooding of extraction pits.

Workshops envelop studio space, while an outer loop road provides access to supporting facilities.

Importantly, the land has already been bought and the plan is fully-financed.

A transport hub will connect the site to the local bus network with an arrival point for cyclists, pedestrians and coaches. New pedestrian links and walking routes will line the site’s parameter, with widened pavements to enhance usability and safety provided throughout.

If plans get the thumbs up, phased construction will start in early 2023.