Cheshunt Country Club Expansion Site
Increasing Sunset Waltham Cross Studios' quantum of backlot space in order to compete with the UK's best studios
Full planning permission for our film and TV studio campus by the A10/M25 junction was granted by Broxbourne Council last year and we’ve been on site doing all the necessary enabling works.
An opportunity for the next phase has arisen to create an expanded backlot for the studios by acquiring the Cheshunt County Club on the other side of the New River. We are working with the council to submit a planning application for this later in the summer.
Background
A backlot is an outdoor open area used for the construction and filming of exterior sets and models. The most marketable backlot spaces are quiet and protected from visual overlooking, and are close in proximity to soundstages, workshops and other film studio campus facilities.
Our main site already includes a backlot—but it is smaller than those of our competitors such as Pinewood, Shepperton and Warner Bros. By expanding, we will remain at the forefront of the industry.
Up until 2021, the Cheshunt Country Club was in use as a sporting facility consisting of two outdoor football pitches. Alongside the pitches, there was a clubhouse with associated changing rooms, squash courts, an accommodation lodge and a bar. The buildings on site have fallen into disrepair and have not been used for some time.
Although the site has been mostly disused for the last couple of years, we have been working with Sports England, Broxbourne Council and the Football Association to make sure that there are local replacements for the pitches. They are supportive of our approach, which is as follows:
We are providing funding towards the Robert Barclay Academy to deliver a full planning application for the installation of a fenced and flood-lit 3G Artificial Grass Pitch, along with associated improvements.
If we are granted planning permission for the extra backlot space, we will enter into a legal agreement with Broxbourne Council to fund improvements to existing pitches at Hammondstreet Road and Goffs Lane playing fields, including enhancements to onsite drainage and clubhouses.
What We Are Proposing
The new backlot site will be mainly empty—so that movies and TV shows can put up whatever they need for their particular production. This is a space that is essential to all production requirements, including constructing large external film sets and hosting an array of required supporting equipment.
We will build a bridge over the New River to connect the backlot to our main site and replace the existing clubhouse with a new workshop. The site is in the green belt but we believe that the competitive benefit of increased backlot space to the main studio campus and the fact we are broadly maintaining established levels of development on the site are a basis for granting planning permission.
The Workshop
The workshop building is an integral aspect of the film studios where sets are constructed. It is designed with the capability of sub-dividing the space for work on multiple productions to be made at once.
In our proposals it is strategically placed to sit on the site of the former clubhouse to minimise green belt impact.
The Backlot
We will create a single level for the backlot to tie into the levels near the water’s edge so as to not impact existing trees or their root protection zones, alongside the maintenance of the four cedars at the highest point of the site. The landscape will aim to provide environmental enhancements and maximise opportunities where possible to blend the development into the existing context, with permeable surfacing, sustainable drainage and the preservation of mature perimeter tree lines.
New Bridge
We will construct a bridge over the New River to allow traffic to enter the backlot via our main site. We have been consulting with Thames Water and have designed a bridge which meets their requirements.
Traffic and Access
The link road and bridge over the New River will mean that the backlot will be accessed via the main studio campus without increasing the need for more traffic or road connections. Although not the main entrance, the existing entrance to the Cheshunt Country Club via Theobald's Lane will also be used for access and egress in order to give maximum flexibility—for example, in emergencies or for VIP access.
Management
We have agreed a management plan with Broxbourne Council for the backlot on the main site and propose to extend this to cover the new backlot.
