Pinewood Studios, home to the James Bond franchise, appears to have overcome much of the resistance to its planned £200m Hollywood-style expansion, with the number of objection letters down more than a third compared with its ill-fated attempt to win consent a year ago.
Pinewood, which will be vying to secure work on the JJ Abrams Star Wars movie to be shot next year, has been trying for the past seven years to double in size by building on a 100-acre site on greenbelt land that it owns.
On Wednesday South Buckinghamshire district council will for the second time deliver a decision on whether to grant planning permission for the development.
Pinewood's last application encountered stiff resistance at every stage of the planning process. The local community took exception to proposed housing to be included in a mix of "streetscapes" that would be used as movie sets, resulting in almost 300 letters of objection to the council and a vociferous "Stop Project Pinewood" campaigning group.
A new housing-free application and a charm offensive led by the Pinewood chief executive Ivan Dunleavy, may have now paid off.
South Bucks district council has received 212 letters of objection, almost 35% down on the 324 lodged last time. And 254 have been lodged in support, almost 50% more than during the previous process.
Pinewood, which says that without a green light for expansion the UK is facing a studio facility capacity crisis that could drive away blockbuster movie-makers, has been attempting to drive home the commercial benefits of its plan.
The application claims that it will create 3,000 new jobs and £150m a year for the UK economy.
Communities minister Eric Pickles eventually stepped in to block the original plan last January.
The local council can approve the planning application, vote against it, or decide that it needs to be ruled on at a national government level.
Pinewood, which is chaired by former ITV and BBC boss Michael Grade, is in the constituency of attorney-general and Tory MP Dominic Grieve.
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