Kelvin Hall film studio gets planning green light

A new film and TV studio is to open in Kelvin Hall after plans were given the go-ahead.

The £11.9m project aims 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 café in the B-listed building.

Glasgow City Council hopes the studio will attract big productions, and the planning approval comes just weeks after scenes for two major films — Indiana Jones 5 and The Flash — were shot 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 officers in the council’s planning team 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% of its revenue generated in Glasgow.

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

A lack of studio space has been a “significant barrier” to bringing large productions to the city and to Scotland, the council has said.

The planning application stated the formation of Screen Scotland in 2018 was “a national statement of intent by government to realise the ambition of increasing production activity, creating more and higher-quality creative jobs, and promoting economic growth”.

It added there is “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 4500m² 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 offer able 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 education facility.

Operated by Glasgow Life, there are three sports halls, a fitness gym and dance studio. Kelvin Hall also houses museum collections, archive storage, office space, a children’s soft play area and a climbing centre.

Since opening in 1927, Kelvin Hall has hosted a diverse range of events. 

Initially the home of large scale national and international exhibitions, such as the Glasgow Civic and Empire Exhibition 1931, it was converted into a factory for barrage and convoy balloon production during the Second World War.

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

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