While Pinewood Studios flourishes as Star Wars, Marvel and other projects take their productions to Hertfordshire, the home of Star Wars in the 70’s and 80’s is under pressure. Elstree Studios has issues with ageing infrastructure and asbestos, issues that will require significant investment.
Crumbling studios where Star Wars and The Crown were filmed need at least £150m to secure their future, according to a council report. Hertsmere Borough Council, which owns Elstree Studios, said the roofs of some stages were “dangerous”. It said the money was needed to replace “life-expired buildings”, where asbestos had also been discovered. But it also claimed the council could not “afford to continually invest” in the Borehamwood film complex.
Many major movies have been filmed at Elstree Studios since it was built in the early 1900s, from Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘Blackmail’ to Steven Spielberg’s ‘Indiana Jones’ trilogy. In the 1970s, George Lucas directed scenes from the original Star Wars films at Elstree. But some of its infrastructure was “at least 100 years old and past its useful life”, according to the report. It said some walls were not expected to last more than 10 to 15 years.
And while asbestos remediation was taking place, its contractor discovered the roofs over stages seven, eight and nine “were in a dangerous state”. The report questioned the “feasibility of proceeding with this project” and asked whether it would be better “to demolish the stages altogether”.
Hertsmere Borough Council bought the studios complex from property firm Brent Walker in 1996 when it was in a “very dilapidated state”. It has spent £22m so far on improvements, but the site has generated £28m for the public purse and has a market value between £40m and £100m. The report said “both Elstree Studios and the council do not hold the necessary funds to finance further work streams”.
