Seren Stiwdios

Seren Stiwdios (formerly Pinewood Studio Wales) is a Welsh film and television studio in Cardiff, Wales. Founded in 2015, the studio complex was operated by the Pinewood Group until March 2020 when the company terminated its agreement with the Welsh government to manage the facility. It is currently leased and managed by Great Point Media.

Seren Stiwdios
Pinewood Studio Wales in 2019
Former namesPinewood Studio Wales
General information
LocationSt Mellons, Cardiff, Wales, UK
AddressWentloog Avenue, Cardiff CF3 2GH
Coordinates51°30′23.7″N 3°6′6.6″W
Opening12 January 2015
OwnerWelsh Government (2015–present)
ManagementPinewood Group (2015–2020)
Great Point (2020–present)

Studio history

The studio was announced in February 2014, after negotiations between Pinewood Group and the Welsh government resulted in an agreement for Pinewood to rent the site of the former Wentloog Environmental Centre in the suburb of St Mellons in north-east Cardiff, which the government had purchased for £5.24 million and spent £9.5 million fitting out.[1] Construction began in the second half of 2014, and the studio opened in January 2015.[2]

In 2017, it emerged that Pinewood had not paid rent to the government for leasing the studio until January that year. Economy minister Ken Skates told the Senedd that the two-year rent-free period was "consistent with market practice". Pinewood held a fifteen-year lease on the site, but the agreement had a five-year break clause, allowing the company to walk away in 2020.[1] As of March 2019, Welsh production company Bad Wolf was the sole tenant of the studio facilities.[3] In October 2019, Pinewood Group gave notice to the Welsh government that their agreement to run the studio would end on 31 March 2020 as permitted by the break clause.[4] In October 2020, the studio was taken over by media investment firm Great Point, with the complex rebranded to Seren Stiwdios.[5]

Productions

The historical television series The Bastard Executioner was filmed on Stage 1 of the complex, and in other locations in Wales, and released in September 2015 on FX in the United States.[6]

Studio filming for the fourth series of the BBC drama Sherlock took place at the studios in 2016.[7]

A remake of the 1994 film The Crow was slated to be the first film to be shot at the studios in 2015,[8] but production delays put the project on hold.[9]

Filming for BBC Three series Class (a spin-off of Doctor Who) took place here, excluding the corridor and hall scenes.[10]

References
  1. "Film studio Pinewood Wales paid no rent for two years". BBC News. 29 August 2017. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
  2. "Pinewood: Studio behind Bond, Star Wars and Avengers enjoys record revenues". Wales Online. 30 June 2015. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
  3. "Controversial Pinewood Wales studio rented out to Bad Wolf TV". BBC News. 28 March 2019. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
  4. Pyke, Chris (29 October 2019). "Pinewood is to pull out of Wales". Business Live. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  5. Barry, Sion (2 October 2020). "Former Pinewood Wales Studios taken over by Great Point". Business Live. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  6. "Wales captures The Bastard Executioner in show of strength for TV industry". The Guardian. 15 September 2015. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
  7. "Sherlock season 4 set to be filmed at Pinewood Studio Wales". Wales Online. 11 February 2016. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
  8. "The Crow cult film remake at Pinewood Studios, Cardiff". BBC News. 16 March 2015. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
  9. "The Crow does not fly but Welsh studio space in demand". BBC News. 3 September 2015. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
  10. "Wales on screen: BBC drama plans stronger than ever". BBC. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
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