It's gonna be huge, kid.
Westmeath County Council have approved planning for a major film and tv studio to be built in Mullingar.
A 25-acre site has been selected in the Lough Sheever Corporate Park for Hammerlake
Studios, according to
RTÉ News.
The group behind the plan is made up of executives who have previously worked at Universal Pictures, Disney and Troy
studios. They say they selected
Mullingar as the location because of its close proximity to Dublin, "which serves as a major international travel hub".
Once completed, the studio is expected to bring up to 350 jobs to Mullingar. Hammerlake executives expect that
an estimated €50 million will be generated annually for the local economy, with hospitality and other local services and businesses benefitting too.
Construction of the studio will take place in two phases over the course of 12 months, and film production operations are expected to commence from the beginning of 2024. When fully completed, the studios will comprise 11 sound stages and support facilities on 460,000 square feet.
According to the
Westmeath Independent, local residents, community, officials and film industry leaders were consulted and the planning application was developed by a team of local, national, and international experts with planning, design, project management, sustainability, film, and content production experience.
The planning application for the studio was submitted to the County Council in July of this year, with councillors voting unanimously in favour of the development.
Header image via hammerlakestudios.com
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