Written by on Aug 18, 2014. Posted in On Location

New Scottish film studio proposed for development in Straiton outside Edinburgh

A new film studio has been proposed for development in Straiton outside Edinburgh in Scotland. The GBP 40 million Pentland Studios would span nearly 30 acres and could help Scotland attract more productions on the scale of TV miniseries Outlander.

Outlander filmed in Wardpark Studios in Cumbernauld near Glasgow, a former warehouse facility that was specifically adapted to house the TV drama’s extensive shoot, given the lack of purpose-built studio space elsewhere in Scotland.

“Our vision is to create the most modern film studio in the UK, with the scale and facilities to attract film-makers from all over the world,” said Gordon Ash, a director of Pentland Studios.

“Scotland has already shown in recent years, with productions such as World War Z, Cloud Atlas and Outlander, that it has the scenery and locations to compete on a global level. What we are missing, however, are the really large-scale studio, filming and production facilities which would complement our locations and enable Scotland to harness much of the high-level investment which currently goes elsewhere.

“Our team comprises a range of film industry, property and finance experts with many years of international experience and we are very confident the location at Straiton offers an unbeatable combination of scale, facilities and deliverability.”

The Scottish government is under pressure to invest in a large-scale studio facility and earlier this year identified a shortlist of potential sites, all of which were in the Glasgow area. Should the Pentland Studios facility get the go-ahead, the development could potentially qualify for state aid from Creative Scotland and the Scottish government.

(Photo: Nick Briggs – © 2014 Sony PicturesTelevision Inc)