Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner will have the final say on plans to build a multi-million-pound film studio in Little Marlow after an appeal into the project's rejection by Buckinghamshire Council.

Marlow Film Studios was refused by committee members following a six-hour debate back in May for reasons including its impact on the local greenbelt and the potentially overwhelming impact of new commuters on the road network.

Developer Dido Property Limited lodged an appeal against the decision last month, with the planning inspectorate approving an inquiry format last week.

But, in a fresh twist in the long-standing saga of the controversial £750 million project, it has now been ‘called in’ by secretary of state for levelling up, housing and communities and deputy PM Angela Rayner – meaning that whatever the results of the inquiry, the final say will go to her.

Coming after culture secretary Lisa Nandy announced new tax breaks for UK filmmakers this week, the move has been interpreted as a green light by Dido – with a spokesperson suggesting that an ultimate approval of the project was a matter of “national importance”.

They added: “With the global film industry due to reach £1.1 trillion in value in the coming years, the UK needs to be best placed to maintain its leading position.

“If approved, Marlow Film Studios will strengthen the long-term foundations for the industry. The high-technology studio campus we would deliver will meet the needs of global investors and production companies, preparing the UK for the next half-century of British filmmaking.”

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But others are decidedly less enthusiastic about the news, with Peter Strachan, cabinet member for planning and regeneration at Buckinghamshire Council, sticking to the local authority's guns and reiterating opposition to the studio on the basis of its "severe impact" on the highway network, local greenbelt and the environment and resident amenities. 

Mr Strachan said he was “very concerned” that calling the decision at “the highest level nationally” would overshadow local impact and opinion.

Adding: “We will be robustly defending the council’s decision to refuse this application in evidence to the appointed inspector at the inquiry and the secretary of state and will urge them to fully consider the significant local concerns.”

Beaconsfield MP Joy Morrissey, who previously warned that the Labour government’s planning reforms could include a U-turn on the project, also expressed strong opposition to Ms Rayner’s ‘calling in’ of the studio plans.

She accused the housing secretary of waging an “attack on those who have voiced opposition from day one”, adding: “I will not stand idly by while our community is steamrolled by inappropriate developments.”

And Sam Kershaw, co-chair of the vocal environmental group Save Marlow’s Greenbelt, suggested that Ms Rayner had been “misled” about the significance of the project by the “PR and lobbying activities of the wealthy property developers behind the scheme”.

He added: “We expect the forthcoming planning inquiry to reveal that the economic benefits would be negligible, and we hope that Angela Rayner will decide this is not a good use of greenbelt land as it does nothing to generate growth or fix the housing crisis.”