Sunset Studios Pivots From Plan To Develop Major Soundstage Complex Outside US
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the Hollywood Reporter.
This is the sub-heading.
Operator Hudson Pacific and investment giant Blackstone had envisioned a 91-acre site in North London to have 21 soundstages totaling 470,000 square feet.
These two paragraphs give more details.
Plans have been formally put on hold for a 91-acre film and TV soundstage complex outside of London that had been billed as a major foray for the Sunset Studios brand outside the United States.
Sunset Studios, owned by operator Hudson Pacific along with significant investor Blackstone, had announced the project in 2021 during what may have been the height of the streaming content spending boom on film and TV projects.
This Google Map shows the site today.
Note.
- The North-South road is the A10.
- The roundabout , is where Winston Churchill Way meets the A10.
- The dual-carriageway going West from the roundabout is Lieutenant Ellis Way.
- Construction of a data centre for Google seems to have started to the North-West of the roundabout.
- Lieutenant Ellis Way would have separated the data centre from the studios.
In Google Starts Building £790m Site In Hertfordshire, I say more about building the data centre.
This Google Map shows the area South of the roundabout, where Winston Churchill Way meets the A10.
Note.
- The North-South road is the A10.
- The green patch of land to the South-East of the roundabout where Winston Churchill Way meets the A10 appears to be ripe for development.
- Looking at the green patch with a higher resolution, the land is little more than high class scrub beloved of newts.
- The London Overground line to Cheshunt runs down the East side of the site.
- To the North, the London Overground crosses Winston Churchill Way to get to Theobalds Grove station.
- To the South, the London Overground crosses the M25 to get to Turkey Street station.
- The M25 runs across the bottom of the map, through junction 25.
- The site to the West of the A10 between the two roundabouts, was the site reserved for Sunset Studios.
- The site appears to have been concreted.
What is going to happen to the Sunset Studios site now?
The Anonymous Widower 
I live about 1km from the Sunset Studios site and 650m from the Google datacentre so have naturally been taking an interest in these developments. To add to some of your observations and add a few of my own:
The site has not been concreted, only levelled, except for the historic barn and farmhouse on the site which they were going to restore.
The land to the southeast of the A10 / Winston Churchill Way roundabout was acquired a few years ago by IKEA who had plans, now abandoned, to construct a fulfilment centre. (This was particularly annoying as I lost access to the blackberry bushes that grew there!) Broxbourne council are keen for the site to now be used for a mix of food and retail development.
HCC have proposals to upgrade the junction to a “hamburger” roundabout to allow A10 traffic a through path.
Sunset had agreed to a £20 million S106 contribution for local developments and transport improvements. This was to include £5 million towards a new Park Lane Overground station between Theobalds Grove and Turkey Street which presumably will now not be affordable.
An “iconic” car showroom is to be built of the land to the northwest of the Lieutenant Ellis Way /A10 roundabout.
Bearing in mind the pressure on councils to build more housing I suspect the Sunset site will go that way with perhaps a new school. The adjacent Google development proposed that their waste heat could be used locally so there would be some sense in utilising that availability. Judging by the enormous electricity substation being constructed to serve the datacentre and the row of large standby generators on the site there is likely to be quite a lot of energy available.
Comment by HW | March 22, 2025 |
Thanks! That was very interesting.
I would love to take pictures of it all. I don’t drive, so is there a double-deck bus that goes up the A 10?
My traffic modeling experience tells me, that you’re going to need some public transport in the area, otherwise life will be hell for any locals, who don’t drive or now more likely can’t afford to buy a car.
Comment by AnonW | March 22, 2025 |
No buses on any of the adjacent roads I’m afraid. You could have a look at Google Streetview. The view from the slip road off the M25 to the A10 shows work in progress in 2023. The one from Lieutenant Ellis Way taken in September 2024 shows the current state. On the other side you can see the Google datacentre works. I am very impressed at the rapid progress progress. If they can construct a complex site like that so quickly I wonder why projects such as the current Waltham Cross regeneration, which is causing massive local traffic jams, proceed at such a glacial pace.
Comment by HW | March 23, 2025 |