An environmental campaign group has hit back at a Town Council after it reportedly voted in favour of a proposed film studio development.

Sam Kershaw, co-chair of the environmental campaign group Save Marlow's Greenbelt said he believes Marlow Town Council is "insufficiently informed" about the impact a film studio development would have on the town after the council reportedly voted in favour of the proposal.

Councillor Richard Scott submitted a comment in his capacity as a member of the public expressing support for the Marlow Film Studios proposal on Wednesday (September 6).

In the comment, Councillor Scott cited a decision reached by Marlow Town Council at an informal members-only meeting held on August 24, where councillors reportedly agreed to "fully support the application and not raise any objections" with a majority vote of eight to three.

He cited the developers’ plans to provide a culture and skills academy in conjunction with the Buckinghamshire College Group, proposals for a wildlife reserve bordering the site and the active travel measures including a new public bus service as the reasons for lending his support to the proposal. 

He added, however, that members of the council had agreed that the transport element of the application was complex, with statutory comments not yet finalised.

The comment also reads: “There is very positive support for the application currently, regardless of residents’ exact locations in the county and this support is reflected in the representations made so far, which aligns with the messaging coming from our Marlow residents.

"The site has historically been gravel pits that have ceased to operate over time and have been used for land backfill, and waste disposal and have been poorly remediated and landfilled.

“This development seeks to reclaim and regenerate a large area of very low-quality contaminated landfill that is mostly inaccessible to the public.”

Mr Kershaw, co-chair of Save Marlow's Greenbelt, a volunteer group set up to protect the designated Greenbelt land in and around the town, described Councillor Scott's letter as "highly irregular", especially in its failure to address the site's Greenbelt status.

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He accused the councillors of being "naive" and applying "insufficient scrutiny" to the decision, adding: "We would have expected Councillor Scott and his fellow Conservative party members to abide by their party's manifesto and strive to protect the Greenbelt.

"The justifications for supporting the development bear a striking resemblance to press releases from Marlow Film Studios and there appears to have been no consideration of the reports by various statutory consultees that have disputed many of the claimed benefits or of how the development aligns with the objectives of the Town Council's own environmental committee.

“Our analysis shows that the vast majority of local people are against it – the supporting representations quoted are mostly from people that don’t live in Marlow.

“This is hardly surprising as the 4,000 studio commuters will cause traffic chaos, there will be almost no jobs for locals and the development will severely damage the environment and the character of Marlow.”

Robert Laycock, CEO of Marlow Film Studio, contrastingly, said Councillor Scott's comments showed the "great detail" with which he had examined the application.

He added: "Our commitments to transport infrastructure, training, public amenities, and the delivery of outstanding workspace make this a unique opportunity for the local area.

"For anyone with questions, please continue to get in touch with us, and we look forward to the decision of the planning committee later this year."