Norfolk may become home to a state of the art film and TV studio
Development of the site could cost £50-100 million
Plans for a state-of-the-art film and TV studio by the owner of Norfolk’s notorious tyre mountain have been revealed.
Roger Gawn, a millionaire businessman, has submitted an application to redevelop 37 acres of the Tattersett Business Park, near Fakenham, into a facility for the film industry.
The plans would see the creation of five sound stages – where films are shot – eight workshops and production offices.
The business park covers part of the former RAF Sculthorpe site, which was used to house American troops and store nuclear weapons in the Cold War.
The plans were submitted to North Norfolk District Council (NNDC) by Ikon Film Studios, owned by Mr Gawn.
Mr Gawn, who owns the Melton Hall stately home in Melton Constable, is perhaps best known for the notorious tyre mountain on a separate part of the business park.
The mountain contained more than a million tyres and was once described as an “environmental ticking time bomb” in the event of a fire.
The tyres are currently being removed.
"Wonderful location"
Mr Gawn hopes his new venture will capitalise on the growing number of productions being filmed in the UK and will help the sector grow locally.
Roger Gawn said: “It’s a substantial development and I believe this will be one of the biggest developments in Norfolk for a long time.
“It’s a wonderful location for production, it’s just off the A148, it’s easy to get to from London.
“We see it as an incredible magnet for activity for Norfolk and will attract a hell of a lot of jobs.
“I am incredibly optimistic, we did a lot of work and research leading up to this, and everyone we have spoken to, from MPs to those in the industry has been very supportive of the idea.”
Mr Gawn said the film industry in the UK has grown in recent years but is under pressure due to a lack of space, which the application would help address.
He estimated that the development of the site could cost £50-100m and would require outside investment.
It is also hoped the site could link up with the UEA to provide opportunities for budding filmmakers.
A planning statement submitted to NNDC said the plans could bring 350 direct jobs and a further 250 indirect ones.
A separate plan to convert the bases’ former sports hall and squash courts, also owned by Mr Gawn, into a film studio was given permission by NNDC last year.
What’s going on with tyre mountain?
Mr Gawn insisted he has been “actively clearing” the Tattersett tyre mountain, one of Norfolk’s biggest and longest-running blights.
The saga began two decades ago when a licence was granted by Environment Agency for a tyre collection business at Tattersett Business Park in 1998.
By 2000, more than a million car and lorry tyres were believed to be on the site with claims that more were arriving daily by the lorry-load.
When Mr Gawn took over as owner of the Tattersett Business Park in April 2009, he vowed to finally bring to an end the county’s infamous tyre mountain.
But in 2015 NNDC served him with an enforcement notice to clear the site by November 2018 which was not done.
Mr Gawn insisted the site is being cleared but the process will take time.
He said: “We have been actively clearing the site.
“There was a hiccup during Covid but now full containers leave the site every week.
“No one wants to get rid of them more than I do. It’s difficult to know how long it will take or how many were there in the first place. It may be two or three years.”