It is ‘Lights, Camera, Action’ for the planned ‘Dublin Fields’ movie studios for a site in south Dublin that will create up to 2,800 jobs on and off site when operational.
This follows South Dublin Co Council granting a 10-year planning permission to Lens Media Ltd for the 56-acre site which includes 20 individual structures amounting to over 74,000 square metres of gross floor space.
The development includes six sound stage buildings that comprise 11 internal sound stages along with ancillary offices at Grange Castle Business Park, Co Dublin.
A planning report by planning consultants, Tom Phillips+ Associates lodged with the application stated that Dublin Fields “will have all the elements that will lure top productions from around the world”.
The planning report stated that the project “will be a world class studio” and occupy the top tier of movie studios globally alongside Pinewood in London and Trilith in the US.
Underlining the scale of the proposal, the County Council is requiring the applicants to pay €8.85 million to the Council towards public infrastructure and facilities benefiting development within the Council area.
The requirement to pay €8.85 million is one of 25 conditions the council has attached to the planning permission at the end of the 106 page long planning report.
A spokeswoman for Lens Media stated that “this planned facility will be unique on the island of Ireland in terms of its scale, spec and location, and amongst the premier film, television and entertainment production facilities in Europe”.
The spokeswoman said that the studios “will more than double the current soundstage offering in Ireland, acting as a catalyst for the indigenous screen industry and catering for growing, unmet production needs. Once fully operational, it will directly support in the region of 2,800 jobs and over 2,100 indirectly.
Welcoming the grant of permission, the spokeswoman said on Monday: “We would like to acknowledge the support from South Dublin County Council over the last number of years.
“From the outset, they recognised the positive impact this project will have – on the surrounding area as well as on the rest of the country – and they have worked with us in a collaborative way to get to this positive decision today.”
In their report, Tom Phillips + Associates stated: “We believe this will be the largest stage in the European Union, and a unifying step in making Ireland a new hub for the movie and TV industry.”
The report stated that “the proposed development would provide an unparalleled opportunity to expand the capacity of film and TV production in Ireland in line with national interests in the sector. While there are several film studios in Ireland, none are of the proposed scale”.
The Television Studios are to offer 4,000, 6,000 and 10,000 square studios each with the capability of housing live shows with audiences up to 600 people.
The report stated that the emergence and growth of the likes of Netflix and Amazon Prime has led to a surge in the demand for high quality content and that Ireland “is uniquely positioned to cater for and benefit from”.
No third party objections were made against the scheme.
The report stated that a similar sized studio exists in Shepperton, London has facilitated the production of over 1,000 films, winning 126 BAFTAs and 81 Oscars.
The project has been in the works for a number of years and three and a half years ago in June 2021, South Dublin County Council (SDCC) approved the sale of 56 acres of the park’s land in order to advance the ambitious plan.
Lens Media initially purchased 48 acres of property from SDCC to develop the studio in May 2020 at a price of €26.4 million and paid an additional €1.1 million for an additional eight acres one year later.
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The project got ensnared in a High Court legal dispute in May 2022 after an injunction was secured preventing Lens Media from taking steps to complete the land purchase.
However, the Commercial Court was told in May of last year that the dispute over the land purchase had been resolved. A new shareholder agreement was also finalised in May 2023.
Lens Media Ltd is made up of film industry and large-scale real estate development professionals: Irish producer Alan Moloney, known for Siege of Jadotville and Brooklyn and Oscar-nominated American Producer Gary Levinsohn of Saving Private Ryan.
The other partners in the venture include David Cooper M.D who is a New York based physician, accomplished film-maker, Matt Cooper and Irish born and LA based, Christopher Carlin.
