Columnists for business-focused newspapers the Financial Times and City A.M. have suggested Buckinghamshire Council was wrong to refuse plans for a multi-million-pound film studio on Greenbelt land in Little Marlow.

John Gapper, who writes a weekly column on business and society for the Financial Times, said the rejection of the Marlow Film Studios project was a “worrying” indication of the UK’s lack of filmmaking ambition in a piece published on Friday, June 14.

Mr Gapper wrote: “A studio lot on a former gravel quarry is not Local Hero’s oil refinery by a pristine beach, and many other countries would grab the offer.

“If you cannot place infrastructure for one of the UK’s most dynamic industries on reclaimed land by a dual carriageway linked to the nearby M40 motorway, it will be very difficult to revive flagging economic growth.

“Goodbye Hollywood, carry on, patch of scrubland.”

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He also contrasted the project’s endorsement by Avatar director James Cameron with the oppositional “pressure group” Save Marlow’s Greenbelt, who he said were “worried about traffic and did not want a view of the Chiltern Hills from the Thames to be interrupted”.

Jess Jones, a technology and media reporter for City A.M., struck a similar tone in an article published on the business website on Wednesday, June 19, describing the council’s refusal of Marlow Film Studios as a “moronic decision”.

She wrote: “With the Hollywood strikes over and film production picking up again, we should be encouraging directors to look to the UK to film new movies here. But for now, we’re stuck with a planning system that is more about preserving the past than building the future.”

Buckinghamshire Council refused planning permission for the film studio following a six-hour discussion on May 30. Councillors concluded that the project did not meet the very special circumstances required for development on the Greenbelt and also raised concerns about its impact on traffic, local residents and plans for Little Marlow Lakes Country Park.

Studio developers are “considering their next steps” and are expected to appeal the decision.