KINGSTON MOVIE STUDIOS PLAN STILL ALIVE WITH MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS EXPECTED ‘IMMINENTLY’

The Hollywood writers and actors strikes are being blamed for a delay in the sale of Kingston Marine Park in East Cowes – but things are progressing and a planning application is due to be submitted within weeks. It was in November 2022 that plans were first unveiled to build a new television and film studio on the banks of the River Medina on 16 acres of land known as Kingston Marine Park. But 18 months on, the sale of the land by the Isle of Wight Council to Medina Studios Ltd. has still not gone through… It’s been 8 months since the last update on the grand scheme when County Hall said that the sale was still progressing and that the delivery of the project was a ‘key priority’. Now, it has been confirmed that negotiations are continuing with hopes that final terms will be agreed and contracts exchanged ‘imminently’. Medina Studios is set to submit a planning application to the local authority this Summer, which is expected to include plans for 4 sound stages, production workshops, offices and other related facilities. Up to 1,000 new jobs could be created if the idea ever gets off the ground. The exact issues currently in negotiation remain confidential, but it is said that last year’s Hollywood writers and actors strikes, the first since 1960, completely shut down the industry for almost a year and as a consequence, progress on the Kingston plans was delayed. Duncan Heath, David Godfrey and Neil Blewett, who all have experience in the film and TV sectors, are behind the proposals.