Buckinghamshire Council’s refusal of plans to build a multi-million-pound film studio in Little Marlow will be examined in a government inquiry, it has been confirmed.

Marlow Film Studios was rejected by committee members following a six-hour debate back in May for reasons including its use of protected greenbelt land and its impact on the local highways network.

Developers Dido Property Limited announced an intention to lodge an appeal against the decision through the form of a public inquiry last month, reaffirming their confidence in the strength of their case, including “significant investment benefits to the local and national economy”.

And planning inspectorate documents show that the call for an inquiry has been approved, with statements and comments from interested parties due by November 4 and all evidence to be considered by December 17.

Although dates for the inquiry and the inspectorate’s subsequent decision have not yet been set, a representative for the studio said they believed it would begin early next year.

They also suggested that the six-week proceedings could be held in High Wycombe due to size requirements.

While a decision on whether to overturn or uphold Buckinghamshire Council’s decision on the project would likely take a considerable amount of time after the inquiry concludes, it could also be ‘called in’ at any time by the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Governance, Angela Rayner.

It comes after Conservative MP for Beaconsfield Joy Morrissey sounded the alarm on Labour’s plans to redesignate greenbelt land in the UK to the more developer-friendly ‘grey belt’ after her re-election in July – suggesting the “expected but extraordinary attack on the greenbelt in South Bucks” could mean a U-turn on Marlow Film Studios.

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Before Labour's general election win in in the summer, veteran broadcaster Andrew Neil also chimed into the debate, asking whether the Keir Starmer would have the “gumption and vigour” to “revisit (Marlow Film Studios) and give it the go-ahead”.

However, a pivot on the council’s refusal would be at odds with the consensus view in Marlow – 85 per cent of voters in the town parish said they were against it in May and councillors themselves sought legal action after being subject to “libellous abuse” for their perceived support of the project early this year.

Oppositional campaigners were also bolstered by the news last week that world-famous Pinewood Studios, based in nearby Iver, was shutting down its television production unit – pointing to “evidence of the oversupply of studio space in the UK”.

And Sam Kershaw, co-chair of the environmental group Save Marlow’s Greenbelt, said he had been surprised by news of the appeal “given the strength of the council’s refusal” and the developers’ “inability to mitigate the significant harm the studio would case”.

A spokesperson for Marlow Film Studios told the Free Press in September that they stood by their pledge to “provide 4,000 jobs and a boost of £3.2 billion in growth investment to the local area over the first decade”.

They also reiterated a commitment to investing in “local traffic infrastructure and sustainable public transport” and creating a studio campus to nurture the next generation of filmmakers.

While councillors didn’t point to a supply-and-demand issue in their nine reasons for the studio's refusal in the spring, they did cite its conflict with plans to create a Little Marlow country park, proximity to an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the effect on a nearby mobile home park alongside greenbelt and traffic concerns.