Hertsmere Labour Councillors have put their wholehearted support behind Hertsmere Borough Council’s historic decision to proceed with a £12 million investment in new sound stages and other facilities at Council owned Elstree Film Studios.

And a Labour amendment for a £100,000 per year fund to support local media & cultural initiatives was accepted, giving the opportunity for film creatives to grow alongside the burgeoning studio complex.

Labour Group Leader Cllr Jeremy Newmark said he was “proud to support these proposals which have the potential to become a catalyst and even the bedrock of local economic recovery”.  Cllr Newmark added: “I’m thrilled that Labour’s amendment to the original proposals which seeks to front load the community contribution by creating a £100k annual fund to support local creative and media initiatives has been agreed by all political groups and is now part of the final plans.  This means that the public will see tangible benefits from the outset rather than having to wait a decade as originally planned.”

Hertsmere Labour Deputy Leader Christian Gray added: “We supported this because its all about local money being spent to benefit local people.  It’s a huge opportunity.  Critically we must be sure that the governance of the studios is sufficiently robust to oversee such a significant project.”