Business

Dublin’s Tinseltown? - studios plans said to be ‘world class’

Consultants claim Dublin Fields project would be the largest of its kind in the EU, making Ireland a hub for the movie and TV industry

A mock-up of the proposed Dublin Field Movie Studio which, according to planning consultants, would be among the best in the world

Gordon Deegan
Fri Apr 26 2024 - 16:47

The proposed Dublin Fields movie studios in south Dublin will be “world class” and occupy the top tier of studios globally alongside London’s Pinewood and Trilith in the US, according to a recently filed planning report.

It has been lodged with South Dublin County Council as part of the ambitious Grange Castle Media Park scheme, in a move the applicant claims would create up to 2,000 jobs on and off-site once operational.

Lens Media Ltd is seeking a 10-year planning permission for the 56-acre site owing to the scale of the proposed development which includes 20 individual structures amounting to over 74,000 square metres of gross floor space.

The development would boast six buildings holding 11 internal sound stages along with ancillary offices at the Grange Castle Business Park.

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Planning consultants, Tom Phillips+ Associates, who compiled the report, said Dublin Fields will have “all the elements that will lure top productions from around the world”.

“We believe this will be the largest stage in the European Union, and a unifying step in making Ireland a new hub for the movie and TV industry.”

The report claims the development would provide an “unparalleled opportunity” to expand production capacity. “While there are several film studios in Ireland, none are of [this] proposed scale,” it said.

The television studios are to offer 4,000, 6,000 and 10,000 square metres of space each, with the capability of housing live shows with audiences of up to 600 people.

With the emergence and growth of streaming platforms such as Netflix and Amazon Prime, the report notes a surge in the demand for high-quality content with Ireland “uniquely positioned to cater for and benefit” from.

It said the similarly sized studio in Shepperton, London had facilitated the production of over 1,000 films, winning 126 Baftas and 81 Oscars.

According to the consultancy, the opportunity for the development of such a facility in Ireland “has arisen in recent years due to various factors including government incentives and the challenges that have been presented to existing studios in the UK arising from Brexit”.

Bernard Dwyer, a senior planner at Tom Phillips+Associates, said the development will “contribute significantly to the Government’s ambitions for the screen industry nationally and will provide significant employment and training opportunities in the arts for the local and wider area”.

Gordon Deegan

Gordon Deegan

Gordon Deegan is a contributor to The Irish Times

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