Since filming returned to the capital at the end of lockdown in June of last year, there has been a sharp rise in demand for studio space in the capital. With long leases being signed on major studio sites such as the Disney lease at Pinewood Studios and Netflix’s current production hub at Shepperton Studios, and soon to be at Longcross Studios, London is needing to find more innovative ways to keep up with the demand for studio space, and the borough of Enfield has been at the forefront of this operation.
Over the course of just two years, Enfield has been transformed into a major hub for filming, and is now home to several major film studios including OMA, OMA:X in the far north of the borough and including Troubadour Studios based at Meridian Water. Rumours abound, too, is that Netflix has just signed a long lease on the whole of SEGRO’s 230,000 sqft site in Ponder’s End.
These new specially equipped spaces are hugely useful to production companies wishing to have a production hub close to central London. As Film London’s head of inward investment and business development, Helena Mckenzie says, “Enfield is for us at Film London one great big paracetamol tablet because it relieved me of the huge headache we had of finding space,” adding that the borough is rapidly becoming a go-to place for the industry, complementing the established film heartland in West London.
Enfield Council have recently collaborated with Estates Gazette, working with Film London, OMA:X and Segro to put together a podcast about the growing film and TV production industry in Enfield. This podcast features conversations with Mark Bradbury, director of property & economy at Enfield Council, Becky Butler, head of operations at Location Collective, Helena McKenzie, head of inward investment & business development at Film London and Dan Holford, technical development director at SEGRO. Check out this fascinating listen here.
The Enfield Film Office, managed by The Film Office, have over the past year seen a sudden influx in filming in the borough including playing home to Antiques Roadshow at Forty Hall Estate, TV Drama ‘Two Weeks to Live’ in Trent Park, and feature film ‘Surge’ with star Ben Whishaw, filming scenes in Enfield town centre. Enfield has a fantastic mix of locations to suit a wide variety of productions, so check out our locations library on FilmHub here to get in touch now to facilitate your production in the Hollywood of North London.
