The Location Of Sunset Studios In Broxbourne
This article on HertsLIve discloses the location of the new Sunset Studios in Broxbourne.
This is said.
Land to the west of Waltham Cross has been bought and is allocated in Broxbourne Borough’s Local Plan 2018 – 2033.
It’s just off J25 on the M25 and is thought to be land on either side of the A10 Great Cambridge Road.
James Seppala, Head of Blackstone Real Estate Europe, said: “The site is on the north-west corner of the M25-A10 junction. It’s ideal given its accessibility across Hertfordshire, into Central London, to London’s airports due to its proximity to the M25, and it has the scale for the scheme we’re planning to develop.
“Highways England are expanding the motorway junction currently which is helpful as well.
This Google Map shows the location.
Note.
- The M25 runs across the bottom of the map.
- The A10 runs North-South between the two roundabouts.
- Newsprinters Broxbourne sits on a forty-acre site and is the largest newspaper printing site in the world.
I would expect that the brown agricultural site is where Sunset Studios will be located.
I have one big question.
Is It The Right Place For The Studios?
I know nothing about making films, but from what has been said, this development will produce up to 4,500 jobs.
How are all these people going to get in to work every day?
The site may have a good road network, but it doesn’t have a nearby rail connection.
But in my quote from Herts Live, this is said.
It’s just off J25 on the M25 and is thought to be land on either side of the A10 Great Cambridge Road.
Does that mean it includes the Newsprinter site as well?
This Google Map shows that site.
The site seems to be closed in by roads and on the Eastern side by the Cheshunt branch of the London Overground.
- It is a double-track railway.
- It runs between London Liverpool Street and Cheshunt stations.
- It only runs two trains per hour (tph) at present, but it has been designed to handle upwards of four tph.
- The trains on the route are new eight-car Class 710 trains, each of which can hold up to 1,300 passengers.
Could Sunset Studios be thinking about a rail-connected studio complex?
- Liverpool Street will be well-connected through Crossrail to much of London including Heathrow and Canary Wharf.
- Cheshunt is connected to Cambridge and Stansted.
- There are fifteen stations between Liverpool Street and Cheshunt, which must surely mean easy access to the complex for a massive number of potential employees.
A station at the complex, would certainly seem a possible move to cut the amount of road traffic travelling to and from the complex.
Riding Past The Sunset Studios Site On The London Overground
I took these pictures of the area around the Sunset Studios site from a train going North to Cheshunt.
Note, that when the line was reopened in 1960, British Rail left wide margins and from my pictures and the Google Map indicates that building a station on this stretch of line wouldn’t be the most challenging of tasks.
The Anonymous Widower 
“How are all these people going to get in to work every day?”
Somewhere close to Maidenhead would better serve the folk working in the new studios, as far as transport goes.
Comment by John Robin St.Clair | August 4, 2021 |
I suspect they’ll build a station on the Overground. Direct to Liverpool Street and Crossrail. At four tph capacity would be massive.
Think of all the car parking that would be saved and can be used for more productive purposes.
That line must be capable of about 15 tph, so they could run an hourly Cambridge/Stansted train on that route.
Also the way rail freight is going, I suspect they’ll bring in parcels and supplies to the site by rail.
Get it right and it could be sold as a low-carbon studio complex.
Comment by AnonW | August 4, 2021 |
As the site was originally earmarked in the local plan for a business park development, Broxbourne council have already been pushing for a new Overground station near to the newsprinters and Travelodge Hotel.
I cannot see how the studio can be either side of the A10 as the only spare land to the north of the printworks has already been bought by Ikea for a fulfilment centre.
It is curious how the area seems to be attracting film production. There is a new OMA film Studio about a mile away and a further OMA:X studio is being constructed nearby as well.
Comment by HW | August 4, 2021
A big studio complex is planned, with work started, for a large film studio complex at the art deco Littlewoods building complex in Liverpool. Progress is slow – they blame Covid. I am not sure if this Herts complex with steal business from Liverpool, cutting the Liverpool scheme down. Liverpool has many big films made in the city. The most recent batman film had Barman on the top of the Liver Buildings.
Comment by John | August 4, 2021 |
A friend of mine works in film production. He thinks there might be an oversupply of studios, but money doesn’t think so yet.
It is something we’re good at though and a large part of the world speaks reasonable English.
Comment by AnonW | August 4, 2021 |
This is a reply to HW.
It would seem that an extra station could be viable just for the printworks and the other developments.
I think that the studio will use both sides of the A10.
Comment by AnonW | August 4, 2021 |
[…] I was right in The Location Of Sunset Studios In Broxbourne, that a station will be built on the London Overground between Turkey Street and Theobalds Grove to […]
Pingback by Tidying Up At Cheshunt Station – 4th August 2021 « The Anonymous Widower | August 4, 2021 |
There are two train stations in close proximity to the site; Waltham Cross and Theobalds train stations that connects to cheshunt station. The trains goes to Central London, Liverpool Street.
Comment by Julius Alaba | January 29, 2022 |
In my experience of film people, they will travel by car, unless there is a station on site and even then, I doubt many will use trains.
But if most of the 4,500 people employed on the site want to turn up by car, there will be gridlock.
Cheshunt and Theobalds Road stations are too far to walk for film people.
Comment by AnonW | January 29, 2022 |
I think the comment about either side of the A10 may be an error in the announcement. the only plot in the Councils local Plan is quite small. There is another site being developed just north of Lt Ellis Way. I can’t find the actual planning applications yet (looks like there were at least two applications for each site in the last three years.
Comment by Mike McClory | February 10, 2022 |