Planning consent was secured in December 2025, and enabling and demolition works have been completed. Around half of the 16‑acre site will be converted into a 266,000 sq ft, state‑of‑the‑art campus for high‑end television and independent film, due to be operational in late in 2027. The remainder of the site, recently upgraded by the BBC under a long‑term lease, continues to host EastEnders. The historic complex first opened as a film studio in 1914.
The brownfield scheme is designed to keep the studios commercially competitive by significantly boosting production capacity, more than quadrupling stage space to approximately 100,000 sq ft across five advanced sound stages ranging from 16,000 to 21,000 sq ft. New workshops, offices and a café will be added, alongside a 58,000 sq ft Media Hub providing office and amenity space exclusively for media‑related industries and businesses directly connected to the studios.
Fairbanks Studios is targeting Outstanding ratings from BREEAM and the Albert Studio Sustainability Standard, the world’s first environmental impact benchmark for film studios. The plans also include landscaped public areas and urban greening, with around 130 new trees to be planted.
The project is expected to generate substantial socio‑economic benefits, supporting around 390 jobs during construction and more than 1,200 full‑time equivalent roles once complete, contributing approximately £80 million in annual inward investment.
Paul Serkis, director of studio projects at McLaren Construction, comments: “Film and high-end TV production is one of the success stories of the UK economy and there is a real and pressing demand for high quality production space here. Approved schemes in the right locations need to come out of the ground quickly to meet that demandand take full advantage of the sector’s growth potential. We are delighted tobe working with BNPP AM Alts and Oxygen Studios to deliver Fairbanks Studios.”
McLaren’s initial supply chain on the project includes Harringtons Builders (groundworks), Aarsleff (piling), SCWS (steelwork), Halsall (MEP) and Northern Cladding (cladding).
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