Plan to double Ashford Studios in size shot down by planners
Gordon Deegan
One of the largest film studios operating here, Ashford Studios has failed in its bid to double the size of its current studios.
This follows Wicklow County Council refusing plans by Ashford Studios to put in place an additional five film studios as part of Phase 3 of the overall development plan for the studios at Kellystown.
A spokesman for Ashford Studios said today: “We are surprised and disappointed at the Council decision.”
Currently, Season 3 of one of Netflix’s most successful ever shows, Wednesday is filming at the studios along with Viking drama, Blood Axe which is to be shown on Prime Video.
Season One of Wednesday is Netflix’s most watched show ever while Season Two - primarily shot at Ashford Studios - is ranked 5th.
In the past, Ashford Studios has hosted global TV hits Vikings and Vikings: Valhalla and the planning application for the studios showed that they range in height from four to five storeys.
In a letter lodged with the planning application, architect for the applicants, Rachel Tiong told the council that Phase 3 "will extend the studio’s capacity to host multiple simultaneous productions, eliminating the ‘valley periods’ of limited activity that characterised Phase 1 operations and delivering a more sustainable, year-round programme of production activity”.
Ms Tiong of McCauley Daye O’Connell (MDO) Architects said that “the economic benefits of Phase 3 are clear and well-evidenced. Ashford Studios is one of the most significant private employers in County Wicklow in the screen sector, with approximately 450 people directly employed during large productions, and a substantial multiplier effect on the local economy of Ashford and the surrounding area".
No objection was lodged against the proposals but the Council has refused planning permission on a number of grounds.
The Council said that the proposed development would materially contravene the objectives of the County Development Plan 2022-2028 resulting in large scale employment development on rural lands and would set a precedent for further unsustainable encroachment into the rural area.
The Council also found that the development would also materially contravene the employment zoning objective of the development plan as it would lead to the leapfrogging of existing zoned lands and would not provide for a cohesive/comprehensive approach to the overall development of these zoned lands.
The Council also found that the proposed development would result in a serious traffic hazard, will impact negatively on this rural landscape and on biodiversity, would seriously injure the amenities and depreciate the value of properties in the vicinity.
The Council also pointed out that the development by virtue of its size and scale which would more than double the existing film studio development at this point would exceed the thresholds for projects listed for Environmental Impact Assessment as set out in Planning and Development Regulations 2001.
The Council stated that the proposed development would therefore require the submission of an Environmental Impact Assessment Report, which has not been provided, and in the absence of such information the development would be contrary to the EU Directive on Environmental Impact Assessment and the Planning and Development Act 2000.
In her letter to the Council, Ms Tiong said that Phase 3 “does not represent a new departure in land use terms”.
Ms Tiong said that “it is an expansion of an existing, permitted, and economically significant enterprise that has demonstrated, through over a decade of operation, its compatibility with the surrounding rural environment and the legitimate planning objectives of the county”.