Regis Road is set to be redeveloped as a mini Hollywood

A LIST of film stars could soon be wandering up Kentish Town Road in search of a coffee as a mini-Hollywood project to build a new film studio complex in NW5 gathers pace.

Council-owned land in Holmes Road and Regis Road is set to be redeveloped by investment firm Yoo Capital – and they plan to build state-of-the -art studios to create a new movie industry in north London.

With TV and film facilities, an exhibition centre and hospitality areas, backers say they want to challenge such famous UK hit film-making factories as Pinewood, Elstree and Shepperton.

This week, Yoo Capital are hosting three events to show residents how their plans are developing for the depot and recycling centres, which includes a homes element with 50 per cent affordable.

Yoo Capital’s managing partner Lloyd Lee told the New Journal: “The film and screen industry first came to us during Covid to see if we had any suitable space in any of our existing projects and we took the time to listen and understand their needs.

“The more we listened, the more we realised how great the need is for well-located, purpose-built studios that would support the growing film and screen industries in the UK.”

He added: “When we first looked at the two sites, we saw a strong vision for a centrally located site in a community with a rich and creative heritage.

“We realised that film and television production was a great place to start and then we came back to the principle that major cities cannot just offer a one-dimensional solution, they must create places to live, to play, to learn and to work, and the idea of the Camden Film and Creative Quarter was born.

“We see a fantastic site just waiting to be moulded for the community in which it sits.”

Yoo Capital have been behind the revamped Shepherd’s Bush market, the Olympia complex and in Camden a plan to overhaul the Saville Theatre in Shaftesbury Avenue.

Mr Lee said: “We recognised after the 2008 global financial crash that cities were going to be called upon to work harder to be accessible and provide value.

“That means that buildings need to do more than serve one purpose – offices from Monday-Friday or entertainment venues from Thursday-Saturday – because that model is no longer sustainable economically or environmentally.”

No firm plans have been drawn up, so Yoo said this week that it cannot be drawn on costs or heights of buildings yet.

Mr Lee added: “The sale is subject to planning permission being granted. The wider concept of a film and creative quarter, inspired by and complementing the work we are doing in live theatre and performance at Olympia and at the Saville, is something we discussed as part of becoming the buyer.”