New film and TV studio in Glasgow given the green light

Plans for a new film and TV studio in Glasgow have been given the greenlight – just weeks after two major blockbusters were shot in the city.

The £11.9m studio will be opened in the Kelvin Hall to address a lack of studio space and boost the city’s screen sector.

It will include production and editing suites, dressing rooms, meeting spaces and a new cafe in the B-listed building.

Glasgow City Council hopes the studio will attract big productions – just weeks after scenes for Indiana Jones and The Flash were filmed in the city.

The application said: “The presence of a major film studio in Glasgow will cater to a growing need for a central facility that can accommodate Scotland’s fast-growing screen industry.”

The council secured funding of up to £7.9m from the Scottish Government for the development of the studio.

Councillors approved £4m of funding for the studio in January this year and planning officers have now granted the application.

Independent producers will be able to use the facility, which is also expected to host a “range of audience centred screenings”.

It is hoped the plans will ‘re-establish the Kelvin Hall’s primary purpose as an entertainment venue with performance at its heart’.

Creative industries are worth up to £500m to Scotland each year, the application revealed – with 60 per cent of its revenue generated in Glasgow.

The project is being delivered in partnership with Screen Scotland, Scottish Enterprise and Skills Development Scotland.

Council chiefs said a lack of studio space has been a ‘significant barrier’ to bringing large productions to the city and to Scotland.

The planning application said there is a “high level of demand for film and TV production space in Glasgow and across Scotland as evidenced by the number of enquiries received by the council in recent years.

“The development will provide a fully structured studio box of circa 4500 square metres within the Kelvin Hall and the associated back-of-house production infrastructure such as costume rooms, green rooms and workshops.”

The proposal also includes the refurbishment of the main entrance and front of house, including a food and drink facility with capacity to serve audiences of up to 500 people.

A first phase of redeveloping Kelvin Hall included renovating two western vaults into a multi-purpose sport, culture and educational facility.

Opened in 1927 and operated by Glasgow Life, there are three sports halls, a fitness gym and dance studio.

The Kelvin Hall also houses museum collections, archive storage, office space, a children’s soft play area and a climbing centre.

It was adapted into a concert hall in the 1960s and was the former home of the city’s transport museum.