Planning permission has been granted for the first phase of development on Ireland's largest film studio with 11 sound stages on a 25-acre site in Mullingar, Co Westmeath.
Westmeath County Council last Thursday (12 July) approved plans for the initial development of Hammerlake Studios at Lough Sheever Corporate Park, adjacent to the M4 motorway.
The project is being led by experienced film industry executives that have worked at Disney, Universal Pictures and Troy Studios, and they expect the studios will generate €50m per year for the Mullingar economy, with benefits for local and national businesses, services, education and creative arts professionals.
The purpose-built campus will hope to attract large-scale and high-end digital blockbuster film, television and content productions from the US and around the world.
"We are excited by the decision by Westmeath County Council to grant us planning in principle. It represents a significant step forward in our plans to build a world-class film and content production facility in Mullingar, one capable of accommodating the biggest and best film productions," said Paul Chesney, CEO of Hammerlake Studios
“The Hammerlake Studios campus will showcase the beauty and welcome of Ireland and its local community, along with the scale and landscape of a vibrant working studio, where content makers will want to work time and time again.
"Ours will not just be a functional service-oriented working studio, but a destination that delivers everything a production entity will ever need, from creative support, technology and equipment, secure data capabilities, along with first-class catering and off-stage filming capability all in one campus.
“As new broadcast platforms continue to announce international expansion plans, it’s an exciting time to be part of this industry and our chosen destination is primed to be a lead player and preferred option for content makers everywhere.”
Construction is planned to take place in two phases, and the first phase covering a total of 236,000 sq ft will comprise of the development of four studios, an administrative building, workshops, data technology centres, editing rooms as well as food, fitness and amenities.
A planning application for the second phase will be submitted next summer, and if approved, it will see an additional seven studios built on the campus, bringing the total footprint up to 460,000 sq ft.
Hammerlake forecast that phase one commence operations in the first quarter of 2024, generating 300 construction jobs and 350 production jobs, and the group estimates that a minimum of 1,000 production jobs will be created on completion of phase two in 2025.
The plans include designs for insulated building fabric to decrease heat loss, mechanical and smart technology systems to ensure minimal operational energy consumption, water saving and harvesting equipment, low power density lighting and electric vehicle charging.
Hammerlake said solar panels on site will reduce grid dependency, while any required electricity will be from green sources.
Tom Dowling, director of development and studio operations at Hammerlake Studios, said: “We sincerely thank our design team and everyone who has assisted us in making the planning application. Our plans have received tremendous support from the local Chamber of Commerce, political leaders and the Westmeath County Council.
“While Ireland has three relatively large studio facilities in the Republic of Ireland, the global demand for studio space has been exceptionally high in recent years. Mullingar’s close proximity to Dublin, its excellent road and rail network, the young workforce and the range of quality hotels matched our criteria for the location of our new sustainable and green film campus.
“While Ireland’s audio-visual sector industry has enormous growth potential, skills and talent development are crucial to its continued success. In tandem with developing our new studio, we will facilitate a series of information evenings from September to identify people in the region with a transferable skillset and arrange training in conjunction with training agencies.
"Hammerlake Studios presents an incredible opportunity for Mullingar and we can’t wait to start.”
Screen Ireland estimated that spending in Ireland across film, television drama, documentary and animation production hit a record €500m last year.
Photo: A mock-up of Hammerlake Studios.