PSL Land, the company behind a £250m plan to build Scotland’s first film studio complex in 2017, now hopes to go ahead on a site at Saltersgate, near Dalkeith, in the southeast of Edinburgh.
A planning application was yesterday filed with Midlothian council for a mixed-use development comprising film and TV studios including workshops, offices, backlot, trailer park and film academy, along with associated infrastructure.
The company’s first choice for the International TV & Film Production Facility of Scotland, also known as Pentland Studios, was Straiton, on the southern outskirts of the Scottish capital. However, this had to be abandoned after a local farmer, who faced eviction, successfully objected to the development in the Scottish Land Court.
The new plan arose after Scottish developer Buccleuch Estates approached PSL Land to suggest the Saltersgate site, which is about four miles from Straiton.
The development will include six sound stages, two backlots, a 180-room hotel, and 50,000 square feet of workshop space. The teaching building mentioned the application will be the result of a collaboration with Edinburgh Napier University aimed at establishing a Scottish Film Academy.
Image: Keppie Design’s sketch of the studio
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