Written by Shona Smith on Jan 13, 2020. Posted in General Interest

Leeds Studios to open in May 2020

Located in Leeds city centre, the new state of the art production facility will have five production stages available for TV, feature film and commercial clients from May 2020.

Based at Whitehall Road, Leeds Studios is five minutes from the city centre railway station the new C4 national HQ, and has road and rail links to London, Manchester and the northern regions. The site is only 25 minutes from Leeds Bradford International Airport.

A joint venture between All Studios, operators of the Manchester Studios complex formerly Granada/ITV studios in the city led by Melanie Jones and Ben Hepworth, Managing Director of Leeds-based Prime Studios, the project team came together with a shared vision to deliver high-quality production space and was supported by Leeds City Council.

The site will offer productions over 130,000 square feet of high quality production space. 68,000 square feet will be sound stages and over 60,000 square feet of flexible production office and service space including prop stores, workshops, makeup and costume facilities.

Melanie Jones, Managing Director of All Studios says, “Leeds is the fastest growing city in the UK and at the forefront of the country’s booming film & TV economy. We’re excited by the partnership with Ben and Leeds City Council and look forward to becoming part of the city's thriving media sector”.

Ben Hepworth, Managing Director of Prime Studios adds “Leeds Studios will act as a gateway to Yorkshire’s wealth of unique and historic filming locations and will cement Leeds city region's growing status as a leading international destination for film & TV production’’.

The five stages measure:

Stage 1 - 16,000 sq ft,

Stage 2 - 12,000 sq ft,

Stage 3 - 11,000 sq ft,

Stage 4 - 8,000 sq ft,

Stage 5 - 21,000 sq ft,
Stages 4 and 5 may be combined to serve as a single 30,000 square foot space.

Leeds itself is a hotspot for UK productions, and in October 2019 Channel 4’s new HQ opened in Leeds. The wider Yorkshire region is also one of the leading areas for regional production with a content fund operated by Screen Yorkshire. Recent productions include the BBC’s Gentleman Jack, PBS’ All Creatures Great and Small and features including Hope Gap and Official Secrets.