The development company behind Marlow Film Studios is hoping to boost its chances of overturning the project’s refusal – by creating a new cycle and footpath across a major road near the studio site.

A lack of sustainable transport provision for commuters to the multi-million-pound film production complex was among the reasons for Buckinghamshire Council’s rejection of the £750 million facility in May.

And while other, arguably more pressing concerns still stand – not least the ‘inappropriate development on the greenbelt’ argument – the development's impact on local road networks, centrally the A404, which borders the former gravel pits site to the east of Marlow, has been a thorn in the side of film studio developers.

Dido Property Ltd, headed up by CEO Robert Laycock, included a replacement of the pedestrian-only Volvo footbridge that was suitable for cyclists in its raft of sustainable transport proposals designed to win planning officers at the council over in February.

Though the application was still refused – and will go to appeal in January, whereafter a final decision will be made by housing secretary and deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner – the company has decided to bolster its chances by launching an independent bridge replacement scheme “to be assessed on its own merits (but) relied upon in support of the Marlow Film Studios appeal”.

The replacement of the Volvo footbridge over the A404 would include a complete removal of the existing structure and installation of a new pedestrian and cyclist crossing with associated approach ramps and foundations.

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Philip Humphrey Architects, recruited by Dido to lay out the proposal, said the new bridge would “significantly improve pedestrian and cycle connectivity across the A404” and “reduce the physical barrier” formed by the road for existing and new travellers.

Other features of the Disability Discrimination Act-compliant structure – which could be used as evidence in the inquiry of road impaction mitigation – are a metal handrail and low-level lighting, underlined by a commitment to “choose all materials for their robustness and low-maintenance properties”.

The Volvo footpath was last removed and reinstalled via crane in 2019 as part of a National Highways maintenance project, causing a two-day road closure – and developers insist a larger-scale overhaul of the structure would unfold “in a similar manner with minor disruption to the road network”.

Alongside its impact on traffic, Buckinghamshire Council’s other reasons for refusing Marlow Film Studios in the spring were its conflict with the Little Marlow Lakes Country Park scheme, a “detrimental” impact on nearby residents and contradiction with the provision of local suitable alternative natural green space (SANG).