ACTION! Mullingar chosen for new TV and film studio

A UK Irish consortium has selected a 25-acre site in the Lough Sheever Corporate Park in Mullingar as the location to build a huge film and television studio campus.

It is understood that an application for planning permission will be submitted shortly.

The proposal is being brought forward by a consortium led by experts who have worked at senior levels of the film industry over the last 30 years, formerly at Universal Pictures, Disney, and Troy Studios.

It is believed that the Lough Sheever site in Mullingar was selected due to the impressive mix of accommodation, catering, and business services in the area.

It is also in close proximity to Dublin, which serves as a major international travel hub, with a wide array of direct flights to North America and mainland Europe.

The project has the potential to generate 300 construction jobs. Once completed, the studio could employ up to 350 film crew.

If planning permission is approved, phase one of the studio development is expected to be fully operational within 12 months.

Aidan Davitt, MD, and Alan Bracken, partner, at Sherry FitzGerald Davitt and Davitt, along with the two local ministers, Robert Troy and Peter Burke, have been working to make sure that, in the first instance, Mullingar would be at the top of the list of possible locations, and with Westmeath County Council to advance the proposal.

Mr Davitt said: “This is going to be the most exciting commercial development ever in the midlands – it will be of international significance, it’s going to be one of the biggest studios in western Europe.

“Sherry FitzGerald Davitt and Davitt were delighted to facilitate this consortium locating in Mullingar, which was up against stiff opposition from several towns within an hour’s radius of the M50. We were fortunate to have an ideal site at Lough Sheever, and an experienced and highly regarded firm in Kelbuild Limited, who own the land.”

An experienced professional in the property business, Mr Davitt said the project is subject to planning, and an application will follow in the coming weeks.

Local TD, Peter Burke, who is Minister of State for Local Government and Planning, has “met the promoters a number of times regarding this very exciting proposal for Mullingar”.

“The scale of the project colossal and if brought to fruition would make Ireland a world leader in the film industry. Three hundred construction jobs would be created during phase one and 350 high-value jobs for employees from phase one (late 2023), and approximately 2,000 high-value jobs when the complex is fully occupied at the end of 2024, which is an ambitious timeline.

“I wish the delivery team the very best and will continue to assist them to bring this project to a reality.”

Robert Troy, TD, added: “This is at a very early stage, but I’ve worked with this group since well before Christmas. We’ve arranged pre-planning meetings with Westmeath County Council, they’ve met the senior officials to carry out exploratory works and the early indications are positive, and it looks like they’re going to submit a planning application shortly, which we hope will go well.

“If the planning application is successful, this will be major boost, not only to the town of Mullingar, but also to the wider midlands area, in terms of the significant investment, which will ensure large scale job opportunities.

“We welcome the commitment that’s been shown to Mullingar to date from the company, we look forward to continuing to work with them, and we want to work with them to ensure that the ambitions they have for this site can be realised, and it’s important to note that the council have been very open and engaging with this company, and we’re looking for a positive outcome from Westmeath County Council, and once we can get a positive outcome from them, it will enable the project to proceed.”

Opportunity

The growing demand for new film and television content means that there is a global shortage of studio space. While Ireland has three relatively large studio facilities (Ardmore, Troy, and Ashford), demand for these studios is exceptionally high, with studio projects often selecting other international locations when the availability of these existing facilities has been limited.

Recent figures published by Screen Ireland (February 2022) reveal a record-breaking spend of €500 million in the Irish economy across film, television drama, documentary making, and animation in 2021. This represents a 40% increase on the previous record set in 2019.

The sector currently supports 12,000 jobs in Ireland, with significant additional expansion opportunities across all parts of the industry anticipated in the coming year.

The new studio would bring considerable benefits to the local Mullingar economy and help Ireland meet the demands of the biggest global productions.