A multi-million pound plan to breathe new life into Twickenham Studios, creating a film and TV complex with a boutique cinema that will showcase its Oscar-winning talent has been unveiled.

Central to the transformation will be the construction of a new entrance building on the St Margarets Road at its junction with The Barons.

It will include a café and heritage centre open to the public, which will allow people to understand the remarkable part the studios have played in the British film industry and the many famous and successful films it has been involved in from silent movies through to Netflix.

There will also be a new hub for the creative industries in the area with workspaces for rent, which will bring people together. Significantly, there will be a new TV studio with audience seating for up to 150 people, together with refurbished film and sound production studios.

Some of the existing buildings will have an extra storey added to the roofline, but the new building and redevelopment will be within the existing boundaries of the studios.

History

The studios can trace their history back to 1913 and were at one time the biggest film production facilities in the country, responsible for many classic films ranging from Hard Day's Night, featuring The Beatles, through to Oscar-winning Bohemian Rhapsody and the hit Netflix drama Enola Holmes, starring Millie Bobbie Brown.

Tim Gee is development director at The Creative District Improvement Company, which has drawn up the scheme. He said it will ensure the studios "continue to be ahead of the game and a sustainable centre of the local Twickenham and St Margarets economy for the foreseeable future – well in advance of 25 years – and continue to make the area proud as one of the homes of movies and TV production."

He said: "Probably the grandest scale of the application and subsequent development will be a new flagship high street building that we are proposing to put on that site.

"We are going to have the entrance into the estate through the high street. On the ground floor will be a heritage centre and café for the public to come in and work, hot desk and learn a bit more about Twickenham Studios.

"On the top floor, we are going to be creating a flexible workspace for the creative industries.

"We like to think there are a lot of people who are currently working from home who would like the opportunity to perhaps work and come here to real class-leading facilities."

Mr Gee added: "This is a very successful business in its own right as it stands today, but its facilities are in need of not just TLC, but a major revamp."

Appearance

The new entrance building will feature a facade designed to mimic the shapes and colours of the surrounding architecture in what is a conservation area.

Lianne Clark, of the architects Hollaway, who created the design, said the facade uses a steel material that is designed to weather over time to develop deep red tones and match the brick on nearby buildings.

"This is an historic take, but in a contemporary way," she said.

"We are proposing a Cor-ten steel, which is like a rusted steel. It is a material that gets better with age. It is hard wearing and durable.

"We liked the terracotta bricks to the left in the conservation area and we wanted to create a more up to date contemporary elevation."

The new block is designed to reflect the building at the original entrance to Twickenham Film Studios which burned down many decades ago and is now just an empty space.

The site suffered a major fire in 1935, which was captured by cameramen from British Pathe at the time and a direct hit in a World War II bombing raid.

Potential to be very special

The managing director of Twickenham Studios, Cara Sheppard, who is a former senior executive at Warner Bros, was appointed to oversee the rejuvenation of the site and studios earlier this year.

She said: "I've always found Twickenham a fascinating prospect.

"It has all the potential in the world to become something very special.

"I have always seen such potential for growth and development at the studio but that does require some significant vision and courage – it's not for the faint hearted!"

She added: "I want to ensure TW1 is a destination, as well as being able to house projects servicing clients anywhere in the world.

"TW1 will be a creative hub to collaborate with leading industry partners. A place to nurture grassroots talent and bravely lead our investment into the next generation, ensuing we are the chosen London studio for large Hollywood and independent features, TV series, music videos, commercials, documentaries through to a variety of emerging technology projects.

"At such an important time for film and TV, I am truly excited about our plans and look forward to the journey."

The team aim to submit a planning application to Richmond Council in January, which will be put out to extensive public consultation. They hope to receive permission and begin building later in 2021 with completion before October 2022.

The studios team said central to the scheme will be a commitment to minimising disruption to residents by, for example, insisting on visitors using public transport, such as the nearby railway station.

Efforts will also be made to ensure it is environmentally sustainable with the installation of solar power panels and green sedum roofs.

Piers Read and Jeremy Rainbird acquired Twickenham Studios in February 2020 and took over management control, marking the beginning of a bold and exciting new era for the studios.

The pair plan to improve the iconic studio space, which won Oscars for both sound editing and sound mixing on Bohemian Rhapsody and a Bafta for mixing on the World War One drama 1917. The two successful teams involved in the Oscar wins were led by John Warhurst and Nina Hartstone; and John Casali, Paul Massey and Tim Cavagin.

The fast growing company is also developing brand new studios in Kent and Liverpool as part of a £500m investment expected to create 5,000 jobs.

They plan to open a million square feet of production space by 2024.

Get in touch

Have you got fond memories of the studios? Are you excited by these proposals?

Why not send us a reader's letter by emailing [email protected]

You can find us @RichmondNubNews on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.