Planning permission granted for £10m film studio in Belfast

It is going to be a case of lights, camera and hopefully lots of action for a new £10 million film studio complex in Northern Ireland following Belfast City Council’s decision to grant planning permission for the development on the outskirts of the city.

North Foreshow Film Studios will be developed by Belfast Harbour on a former landfill site and comprise four buildings with significant production, workshop facilities and three stages.

The North Foreshow is currently one of the biggest regeneration sites in Belfast covering 340 acres and is owned by Belfast City Council.

It is hoped that the ambitious new film studio complex will enable Northern Ireland to continue to build on its growing reputation as a location for television and film production projects, creating hundreds of jobs along the way.

The success of the hit HBO series Game of Thrones has propelled the North into the international spotlight as a filming location and along the way delivered a multi-million pound boost for the local economy.

Latest figures show that seasons 1-5 of the show injected around £115 million into the local economy – supported by an investment funding of £12.45 million in the project from the local government backed agency, Northern Ireland Screen.

According to Richard Williams, chief executive of Northern Ireland Screen, 2015 was a great year for the screen industries in the North but in his opinion "we have only skimmed the surface here".

Mr Williams said when the agency launched its four year strategy back in 2014 it aimed for a direct spend of £250 million on screen projects in the local economy based on investment support of £42.8 million by Northern Ireland Screen.

He said in the second year of the strategy direct spending levels were an estimated £119 million on an investment of £14.1 million by Northern Ireland Screen.