Marlow Town Council has announced a parish meeting to consider the consequences of a controversial film studio proposal for residents in the town.

Marlow Town Council will hold a parish meeting on Tuesday, October 17, during which all electoral members of the parish are invited to share their views on the Marlow Film Studios proposal - a project that has been a subject of debate among developers and environmentalists for over a year. 

It comes after the council were criticised by residents and Lib Dem candidate Anna Crabtree for holding a 'secret' vote in favour of the film studio, detailed in a representation submitted by Councillor Richard Scott to the planning portal last month.

Mr Scott cited the developers' plans to provide a culture and skills academy, a wildlife reserve and a new public bus service as reasons for the council's decision to "fully support and not raise any objections to" the proposal, on which a majority vote of eight to three was taken during a "members only" meeting on September 6. 

Council leader Chris Funnell later apologised for the comments, stating that he held himself responsible for the 'misleading' language of the representation, which he had reviewed and approved prior to its submission to the portal.

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Mr Funnell said he was "satisfied that the content of the collective representation and observation was clear" but admitted that "some of the content was misleading".

Adding: "The comments made were a collective view of Marlow constituency Councillors who wished to support the application by way of the detail provided. I apologise to the public for any confusion this may have caused."

Sam Kershaw, co-chair of the environmental group Save Marlow's Greenbelt which has been vocal about its opposition to the film studio project, initially described the council's stance as "naive" and "applying insufficient scrutiny" to the proposal.

Speaking today (October 9), a representative for the group praised the initiative of Marlow residents who called for the parish meeting to be held, adding: "We hope that lots of people go along to voice their opinions so that Marlow Town Council can then submit an official letter that truly represents the views of local people."

A Marlow Film Studios spokesperson said: "Throughout our consultation and engagement period, we've held an open-door policy for anyone interested in discussing our proposal. We are still very enthusiastic about speaking to anyone who has questions. Please get in touch with us via info@marlow.film."