The site in Regis Road

A TALENT factory for film and TV could be built on a recycling dump and depot in Kentish Town, the New Journal can reveal.

The internationally-renowned National Film and Television School, in Bucks, is in talks with developer Yoo Capital, which has bought land from Camden Council in Regis Road.

The company plans to build a Hollywood-style film production campus that will make Kentish Town the envy of the British film industry.

Oscar-winning film director Kevin MacDonald told the New Journal yesterday (Wednesday) that the plan showed “real ambition” and was “amazing news”.

On Monday, director Lloyd Lee unveiled the plans at the AGM of the Kentish Town Neighbourhood Forum – and revealed they had opened discussions with the school for new training facilities alongside studios.

Film director Kevin MacDonald

Mr Lee told the meeting, at the Kentish Town Community Centre, that a planning application could go in by the end of the year.

He said: “We are working with the National Film and Television School and that is something we hope to announce publicly very soon. The school could be based there.

“We want an environment for young workers to get into a career in the industry, and we will create that infrastructure. We looked at a big picture for Regis Road, and we looked at the film and TV industry.

“There is an enormous need in the UK. The talent in London is extraordinary. We hear time and again that people love working here – and it is because the talent is so strong.”

The NFTS is the country’s leading film, television and games school currently based at Beaconsfield Studios in Beaconsfield, Bucks.

Set up following an inquiry led by Lord Lloyd of Hampstead, its students have produced a glittering array of alumni – most recently, three have been nominated for three Oscars in the last six years.

Mr MacDonald – whose films include The Last King of Scotland and Touching The Void, who lives in Kentish Town – has backed the news.

He said: “The irony of the UK’s success is it has become harder and harder to find studio time. It is one of the only booming industries in the UK, and there is a real shortage of space.

“The film school [in Bucks] is frankly a pain to get to for the students. This will bring the school, and film production, to the heart of things. This is amazing news – it is great to see real ambition that will help the area and create a lot of jobs. Film production is one of the few fields in which we are still world leading.”

He said Kentish Town was the perfect spot for the new studios.

He added: “There are so many film people living around here and there is currently a 90-minute commute to Pinewood. The industry will welcome this.” There are seven landowners of Regis Road, and Yoo Capital are now working on a masterplan vision.

The company said it was committed to making housing on the site 50 percent affordable, vowing to build homes for free for the council to set rents