Planning permission granted for Edinburgh film studio

A £140M film studio complex on the outskirts of Edinburgh has been given the go-ahead by the Scottish Government.

The decision by ministers overturns an earlier recommendation from the Scottish Government that the Pentland Studios Project should be rejected as it will be built on a green belt site at Straiton.

Developer PSL Land said in a statement: “We are very pleased with the decision by ministers to approve the grant of planning permission in principle for Scotland’s world-class Film & TV studio complex, and we will be moving forward immediately with the application for planning permission in detail for the Film Studio, Academy and Energy Centre sections of the development.

“Working together with Midlothian Council, PSL hope this next stage will be expedited accordingly, recovering the construction scheduling that will enable delivery of the key Studio operation by late 2018.

“It is anticipated that a detailed schedule to progress the planning application will be agreed with Midlothian Council in the next few weeks, producing a phased time frame.”

The Association of Film and Television Practitioners Scotland, which represents some of those working in film and television, previously said it believed the sector was being badly affected by the lack of a studio space and this project will alleviate this problem.