Westmeath County planners have greenlit an application for the creation of a major international film studio campus in the in the county.
Hammerlake Studios Ltd are seeking to construct an international Headquarters, filming space and workshop at the Lough Sheever Corporate Park near Mullingar.
The project will include 4 film or TV studios in two separate blocks, a 4 to 5 storey building and a workshop for the construction of sets and props.
Also included in the plans are an ESB sub station, a security office and parking spaces for 278 cars, 11 articulated trucks, 7 motorhomes and 50 bicycle spaces.
The company behind the proposed development hope the purpose-built campus would attract large-scale blockbuster film, television and content productions from the U.S. and around the world to the midlands of Ireland.
The final step in the planning process will take place in September, where Westmeath Councillors will vote on the project.
Should the vote pass, it's hoped the construction will begin in 2024, with over 300 construction jobs expected to be supported on site.
Director of Development and Studio Operations at Hammerlake Studios, Tom Dowling says Mullingar ticked all the right boxes.
''We spoke to a lot of industry leaders. We spoke to executive producers from North America, who had been coming to Ireland for more than 20 years to make productions and we said to him, you know, we were looking at planning a new greenfield site, where would you think would be a good location or what what would be attractive to you as to where we place it. So the word that came back was within an hour of Dublin Airport, preferably make sure that it was close to a motorway and that it was easy access.''
