London looks set to get a fresh injection of film and TV production space in the form of RD Studios, a 45,000sqft development being built in Park Royal.
The £20M ($26.5M) development (a combination of capital and lease costs) is being spearheaded by Ryan Dean, the founder of RD Content, a production company with offices in London, New York, Singapore and Abu Dhabi. Funding is coming directly from the RD group.
The site will be housed at Premier Park in Park Royal, West London, about 10 miles from Soho. According to the company, the build will feature five sound-proofed stages, alongside hair, makeup and wardrobe facilities, on-site catering, green rooms and lighting and camera hire.
All of the stages will feature a fully automated truss, allowing for rigging work at ground level, and a drive-in stage door enabling large set constructions to enter and exit the stages. There will also be post-production facilities on site, including a screening room, edit suites, sound engineering facilities and a Da Vinci colour grading suite. The facility is due to be operational by April 2022 and bookings are now being taken.
The company said that the development is a net zero-carbon refurbishment of an existing warehouse and is intended to be the most sustainable studio in London, with solar power and recycled rainwater, plus electric vehicle charging outlets.
RD Studios is intending to develop 250,000sqft of studio space across the UK in the next five years to cater to growing demand, it added.
The project is just one of a number of UK studio spaces to be announced in the last 12 months. RD Studios will be located next door to Garden Studios, a 62,000sqft build that was unveiled last year.
“The UK has become the world’s premier destination for film production, but a lack of high-quality sound stages and studio space has the potential to limit the growth of the creative industries at a crucial time,” said Ryan Dean. “I’m delighted to be bringing to the market a truly world class facility that has sustainability at its core, and is driven first and foremost by the needs of content creators. Having addressed the immediate need in London, my aim is to build further RD Studios across the globe, creating the largest network of independent studios in the world.”
