Rayner urged to approve Marlow film studios in test of Labour planning policy
Angela Rayner has been urged to give the green light to a project to build a £750m Hollywood-style film and TV studio to prove the creative industries are an “economic priority”, a public inquiry into the project backed by the Avatar director James Cameron has heard.Rayner, the deputy prime minister, will make a final decision on the proposed development of Marlow Film Studios based on a report produced after the inquiry into the project’s planning application.The hearings began on Tuesday and Rayner’s decision is seen as a test of Labour’s approach to planning and the creative industries.The proposed development of Marlow Film Studios, which would have created 4,000 jobs, was turned down by Buckinghamshire council last May.The council cited concerns including over the impact on the road network and use of green-belt land.
In October, Rayner called in the rejected planning application for the studio complex, which has received high-profile backing from film-makers including Cameron and the 1917 director Sam Mendes.The project is led by Robert Laycock, who is the great nephew of Ian Fleming and an executive partner of the James Bond creator’s estate.On the first day of the month-long public inquiry into the application, which will provide the report and a recommendation to Rayner, the counsel for the project immediately characterised the ultimate decision as a test of Labour’s commitment to grow the UK creative industries.“The new Labour government has made it clear that enhancing the UK film and TV industry is a central economic priority,” Sasha White KC said.“If the UK government is serious about championing the creative industries then Marlow Film Studios can fulfil that objective.
It is no exaggeration to say that this proposal is a gamechanger for the economic health of the county, London and the south-east and, frankly, the nation.”White pointed to Labour’s sweeping reforms to planning, announced last year, including ordering councils to review their green-belt boundaries by identifying lower quality “grey belt” land that could be built on.“The site is designated as part of the green belt,” he said.“However, [we] will argue that the site is land newly conceived by the Labour government as ‘grey belt’.We will rebut the pessimistic, unambitious and frankly shortsighted approach of this council.
”The legal team representing Buckinghamshire council, and a lawyer for campaign groups including Save Marlow, argued that the developers’ forecasts of future booming growth in the UK production industry are unfounded,They pointed to Pinewood, the home to the Bond franchise and Disney’s UK production hub, putting on hold expansion plans for which it was granted council permission in 2022,Last month, developers scrapped plans for nearby Wycombe Film Studios because of market uncertainty, instead opting to build a datacentre,Sign up to Business TodayGet set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morningafter newsletter promotion“The council supports the government’s growth agenda,” said Simon Bird, KC for Buckinghamshire council,“It is not a blocker of growth when it is proposed in the right location.
It is inherently difficult to predict demand.The council is not satisfied that a demonstrable need exists.”Under the appeals process, the Planning Inspectorate can conduct an inquiry (or hearings) and the secretary of state has the power to determine an appeal or recover an appeal at any stage until the planning inspector has issued their decision.Any further appeal would then be through a judicial review application to the high court.In theory, the secretary of state can call in a planning application for any reason, but in practice very few applications are called in each year.
Davos day two: Rachel Reeves says she’s ‘absolutely’ relaxed about wealth creation and defends budget tax rises – live updates
Rachel Reeves has also revealed ministers want to increase higher skilled migration by creating with more visas for people working in AI and life sciences:She told attendees at Davos that the government will publish an immigration white paper later this year.And while the government wants to lower immigration, the chancellor says it will also create new routes for the highest skilled people, by creating visas for people in areas like AI and life sciences.She says this is a sign that Britain is open for businesses, and wants to bring global talent into Britain.Rachel Reeves confirmed during her discussion here in Davos that the chair of the UK’s antitrust regulator decided to step down after recognising that the agency needed to be headed up by someone who shared the government’s “strategic direction”.Speaking just hours after the surprise departure of Competition and Markets Authority chair, Marcus Bokkerink, Reeves said:“He recognised that this government has got a different strategic approach when it comes to regulation, and he recognised it was time for him to move on and make way for somebody who does share the mission and the strategic direction that this government are taking
UK borrowing unexpectedly jumps, piling pressure on Rachel Reeves
The cost of UK government borrowing unexpectedly jumped to £17.8bn last month, piling pressure on Rachel Reeves to plan budget cuts before a spending review in the summer.The figure was about a quarter higher than the City had forecast and was up by £10.1bn more than in the same month a year earlier, making it the highest December borrowing for four years.Economists polled by Reuters had predicted that public sector net borrowing (excluding public sector banks) would be £14
‘The gesture speaks for itself’: Germans respond to Musk’s apparent Nazi salute
There were angry reactions across Europe to Elon Musk’s apparent use of a salute banned for its Nazi links in Germany, where some condemned it as malicious provocation or an outreach of solidarity to far-right groups.Michel Friedman, a prominent German-French publicist and former deputy chair of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, described Musk’s actions – at an event after Donald Trump’s swearing in as US president – as a disgrace and said Musk had shown that a “dangerous point for the entire free world” had been reached.Friedman, who descends from a family of Polish Jews, hardly any of whom survived the Holocaust, told the daily Tagesspiegel he had been shocked when watching the inauguration live on television, adding that as far as he was concerned Musk had unambiguously performed the Nazi “Heil Hitler” salute, despite attempts to downplay it.“I thought to myself, the breaking of taboos is reaching a point that is dangerous for the entire free world. The brutalisation, the dehumanisation, Auschwitz, all of that is Hitler
Digital passports among IDs to be available in UK government app
UK citizens could soon be able to carry their passports in a digital wallet on their phones along with their driving licence, universal credit account and marriage and birth certificates.The plan was announced by Peter Kyle, the secretary of state for science, innovation and technology, as part of a new smartphone app to simplify interactions with government services. He said it meant “the overflowing drawer rammed with letters from the government and hours spent on hold to get a basic appointment will soon be consigned to history”.The first government-issued credentials that people will be able to carry in the new digital wallet, to launch in June, will be a driving licence and a veteran card. The government’s digital service plans to then roll out access to accounts relating to student loans, vehicle tax, benefits, childcare and local councils
Imperious Iga Swiatek marches on to set up Madison Keys semi-final at Australian Open
Even as Iga Swiatek has consolidated her position at the top of women’s tennis over the past few years, sweeping up significant titles on hard and clay courts alike, she has struggled to back up her success at some of the biggest tournaments in the world. While she has built an all-time great era of dominance at Roland Garros, winning four of the last five tournaments in Paris, Swiatek had also gone two seasons without making a semi-final in Melbourne, London or New York.This week at the Australian Open, things have come together at last. Swiatek will battle Madison Keys for a spot in the final after the Polish No 2 seed dismantled the eighth seed Emma Navarro 6-1, 6-2 to continue her dominant run in Melbourne. Earlier on Wednesday, Keys maintained her own excellent form at the start of the season with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 win over 27th seed Elina Svitolina
‘Always going to have one or two’: Australian Open boss says rowdy crowds not a problem
Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley has rejected suggestions crowd behaviour at Melbourne Park has taken a turn for the worse, saying the number of people interrupting points and being ejected from courts is no different from previous years.The grand slam has set a string of record attendances in the past week-and-a-half as it seeks to draw a wider pool of fans to the precinct with sponsor activations and activities, including an increasing array of court-side hospitality options.Players including Novak Djokovic and Danielle Collins have linked rowdy behaviour to the level of alcohol consumed by patrons. But Tiley said that with tournament attendances totalling more than a million, there will always be some examples of poor behaviour, just as there would be in the broader community.“Really it’s been no different in the number to what it has been in previous years, even with the larger crowd we’ve had come through the gates,” Tiley said
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